Autism service's sudden closure is 'devastating'

Autism Oxford UK closed suddenly this week

An autism support service has suddenly closed its doors after more than twenty years working with local families.

Autism Oxford UK helped people and their families across Oxfordshire but said financial pressure and the loss of a key investor had forced it to close this week.

The organisation said it was now contacting clients to signpost them to alternative services.

Dr Claire Brenner, from the Oxfordshire SEND Parent Action Group, said the closure came as a "total shock".

"No one had any sense that this was going to happen - parents are just in shock and disbelief," she told the BBC.

"It's really devastating."

In a statement on the organisation's website, Autism Oxford said: "It is with a heavy heart we have taken the decision to close our doors."

"We want to thank you, our community, for all the support you have offered to our organisation."

"We appreciate this news will come as a surprise to many."

The group offered services including autism and ADHD assessments and peer mentoring.

It also provided mental health services for young people waiting to access services from Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust's Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service.

"Services which are funded publicly are so overstretched that parents are being forced to go privately," Dr Brenner explained.

"That's part of what Autism Oxford was starting to do, was plug the gap in the availability of public services."

Dr Brenner said she now believed public services would "get evermore stretched".

"We need to think really carefully about how we actually deliver these services in the future," she added.

Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust, which had a contract with Autism Oxford, said it was "aware" of the organisation's closure.

It added that it would be "contacting patients and parents who use the service to advise, support and signpost to alternative services where appropriate".