Post diagnostic support.

For many autistic women, family court proceedings and child protection investigations can be among the most overwhelming experiences of their lives.

Spectrum Sisters recognises that autistic women are disproportionately affected by domestic abuse, coercive control, sexual violence and trauma. Research consistently demonstrates that autistic women are significantly more likely than non-autistic women to experience abuse throughout their lives. When relationships break down, some continue to experience coercive control or post-separation abuse, with children becoming the focus of ongoing conflict.

At the same time, autism in women remains widely misunderstood. Many autistic women have spent years masking their difficulties, adapting to social expectations and developing strategies to cope in environments that were never designed for them. Under the intense pressure of court proceedings or child protection investigations, these coping strategies can begin to fail. Professionals who lack specialist knowledge of female autism may misinterpret autistic communication styles, emotional expression, sensory overload, shutdowns, difficulties with eye contact or executive functioning as disengagement, dishonesty, lack of empathy or an inability to parent.

As a result, autistic women may feel that they are not being understood or that decisions are being made without a full appreciation of how autism influences their presentation. Their strengths as parents may be overlooked, while behaviours associated with autism are interpreted through a deficit-based lens rather than an autism-informed one.

At Spectrum Sisters, we believe that every mother deserves to be assessed fairly, objectively and with an understanding of autism. Autism should never be viewed in isolation from the person's life experiences, including trauma, abuse, chronic stress, discrimination and the barriers they have faced in accessing appropriate support.

Chay Thompson is a registered independent social worker with specialist expertise in autism in women. Her work combines an understanding of social work, safeguarding, trauma and the female presentation of autism to provide independent, autism-informed assessments where autism may be a relevant factor in parenting, family court or child protection proceedings.

These assessments are designed to help solicitors, courts and other professionals understand:

• how autism may influence parenting and family life;

• whether behaviours observed during assessments are better explained by autism rather than assumptions about parenting capacity;

• the impact of masking, executive functioning differences, sensory processing and autistic communication styles;

• how trauma, coercive control or post-separation abuse may interact with autism;

• whether reasonable adjustments have been made during assessments and court proceedings; and

• what autism-informed support may enable an autistic parent to thrive.

The purpose of these assessments is not to advocate for either party, but to ensure that autism is properly understood and that decision-makers are provided with an independent, evidence-informed opinion based on current research, clinical understanding and social work practice.

Every instruction is considered individually and accepted only where it falls within Chay's professional expertise and where she is satisfied that she can provide an independent and objective assessment.