AutSupport New Zealand

A Personalised & Holistic Service Dedicated to Supporting Caregivers of Neurodivergent Family Members

Welcome to AutSupport

We are so glad you have found us!

We are a place of empathy, understanding, and support for families and caregivers on unique journeys of caring for autistic loved ones.

At AutSupport, we are dedicated to providing a range of services that are tailored to the diverse needs of families. We seek to help empower those that we work with, foster connections, and support networks between families.

Here at AutSupport, we have a lived experience of the challenges that can come with supporting autistic family members. From the rollercoaster of emotions and daily practical hurdles to the sensory sensitivities, changes in family dynamics and the lack of time for self-care for ourselves as carers – we understand. And we care.

Our mission is to provide a safe space for parents and carers to find a source of coaching and support as they navigate this journey. Our goal is to transform lives by fostering a sense of strength, resilience and wellbeing within individuals and across our community.

Take a look at our coaching and mentoring services and how we can support you and your family, and reach out to us today!

Our Services

AutCoach

Tailored 1:1 coaching to build strength, resilience and wellbeing

AutMentor

Connection building & mentoring for neurodivergent youth via gaming

AutCoach is our flagship 1:1 programme that offers tailored, donation based, coaching and support for parents and caregivers of autistic individuals.

To help families gain the support they need, the AutCoach model is based on a unique ‘pay-what-you-can’, or ‘what-you-feel-it’s-worth’, basis.

Coaching empowers you to overcome obstacles and enhance your overall well-being so you can handle daily challenges head-on.

Begin by scheduling a free Discovery Call with Iain, our Transformation Coach, to identify your needs and set goals. We understand each journey is unique, so we provide personalised sessions to meet your needs. Iain provides a tailored sessions that focus on growth and building resilience and well-being in a nurturing environment.

Our coaching fosters positive transformations, supporting you and your family to thrive!

FIND OUT MORE ABOUT AutCoach HERE!

BOOK A 1:1 AutCoach DISCOVERY CALL TODAY!

AutMentor is our mentoring programme for young people aged 7+, providing skill development and mentorship via the medium of gaming and peer connection.

Through the medium of gaming, AutMentor aims to support social challenges often faced by neurodivergent youth by offering a safe and enjoyable space for personalised mentorship by a parent with firsthand experience in supporting autistic children.

At the core of AutMentor’s ethos is the belief in creating inclusive environments that nurture growth and meaningful connections for and between neurodivergent youth. The programme is designed to empower participants to develop essential life skills, form lasting friendships, and thrive both online and offline, acknowledging the unique hurdles they may encounter in social interactions.

Gaming serves as a powerful medium for skill development and social engagement within AutMentor, leveraging popular platforms like Xbox and games such as Minecraft, Fortnite, Spiderheck, and Roblox. Through tailored gaming sessions that cater to individual preferences, participants can immerse themselves in cooperative gameplay, problem-solving tasks, and creative pursuits, fostering a sense of ownership and agency in their gaming experiences. AutMentor offers a diverse range of gaming options across various consoles to ensure every participant’s interests are accommodated, encouraging personalisation and engagement.

Iain Girvan

Transformation Coach

As a certified Coach with a background in psychology and a father of an autistic child, I founded AutSupport to address a support gap I personally experienced while navigating my son’s diagnosis.

Through personalised 1:1 coaching, I offer a safe space, grounded in the principles of growth, resilience, and wellbeing, to help caregivers empower themselves to navigate their own unique journey with strength and confidence.

Get in touch with me and let’s work together to unlock your family’s potential to thrive!

Calling all PDA Father Figures!

Iain leads a dedicated Facebook group tailored to support fathers of children and young people with a Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA) profile of autism.

This online community serves as an extension of AutSupport’s mission, enabling fathers to seek advice, exchange resources, and connect with peers navigating comparable situations. Iain’s active involvement in various dads support groups underscores his dedication to enhancing peer support and advocacy within the autism community.

I'm absolutely loving this connection and support stuff. It's soooooo cool. My son regularly games with a lad we connected through this site 🙂

My son’s diagnosis of Autism didn’t catch me by surprise. The subset of PDA did. Here in the USA, it is new and isn’t diagnosed often. As a result, I had never heard of PDA before. My son had never met anyone else with it. The learning curve has been fast and steep. Iain and I met through an online PDA Autism support group. He has been a major catalyst in helping me find support and helping my son meet others with PDA across the globe. This has been achieved for us primarily through gaming. He created a wonderful group of PDAers who play together. This has helped my son’s confidence grow rapidly. My son now knows quite a few PDAers and they are all awesome, just like him. Iain games alongside them and helps maintain a positive atmosphere. He engages with each child and makes them feel important and heard. He has reached out to me whenever there has been a concern about my child. I feel like my web of support is much stronger now and is still growing. I will always be so grateful to Iain for the impact he has made in our lives.

I had a few coaching sessions with Iain. What I found really useful was the time he took to really understand the situation from my perspective. Iain has a calming persona and so that helped me to calm my mind and focus on the situation. Iain then through open questioning enabled me identify the underlying challenge I was facing. With that clarity, I was able to see the situation from another perspective and find solutions for moving forward and approach the issue with confidence.

I did my coaching programme with Iain, and it was clear that he brought something special to his practice…his ability to understand quickly and help his clients open up to possibilities, even when the challenges they were focussed on were significant. He is patient and has huge empathy, whilst at the same supporting his clients to search for and take action on solutions that work for them.

I connected with Iain when he reached out on a PDA Facebook group looking for kids to connect with his son through gaming. In the months since then we have remained in contact, with Iain being there as a sounding board for me as I navigate the journey of raising a PDA child. His wealth of PDA knowledge, compassion and empathy has been a lifeline.

Massive thanks to Iain for providing a way for our ND children to connect online. My son has formed a great friendship with a boy from NZ through Iain's PDA Gamer initiative. They play online together almost every day and it has been incredible seeing them forming a genuine, safe connection through gaming. This online friendship has opened up a conversation about travelling to NZ (as my son wants to visit his new friend) which is incredible, as we haven't been able to travel in many years due to anxiety about leaving the house. Thank you Iain, I am so grateful for the opportunity you have provided us with to connect with other families who 'get it'.

Autism Support (AutSupport) is based in Wellington, New Zealand.

However, AutSupport works with families across the globe, so don’t let time zones affect your ability to connect with us.

It always seems impossible until its done.

– Nelson Mandela

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