As part of work we did for our Health Access Project, we produced resources to help you communicate your health needs. They were all co-produced by members of our Co-Design Group. 

All the resources below are free to use. They are for autistic adults who are either living in the Leeds area or registered with a GP in Leeds. To download and use them, please click on the buttons below for each resource.

1: Emotion Thermometer

This resource uses a thermometer to help measure what emotions you are feeling. It can be adapted for different emotions.

2: Mental Fatigue Scale

This tool can help you to say how much fatigue you are experiencing. It uses a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 being the most fatigued.

3: Pain Scale Template

The scale can help you to say how much or how little pain you are in, going from 1 to 10. 10 is the highest level of pain.

4: Simple Pain Scale Template

A simpler version of our Pain Scale, this uses three levels of pain to help you say how much or how little you are in.

5: Spoons Scale

This resource uses Spoon Theory to explain the levels of physical and mental energy you have, whether they are high or low. 

6: Symptom Diary Template

This document can help you to record symptoms of any illness you might have, including pain and its’ impact on your life. 

7: Questioning Pattern Examples for professionals

For GPs and other healthcare staff working with autistic patients, this document has examples of questions for them and how they should be asked.

8: Broaching the Subject: Professionals

For health professionals, this document gives pointers on how to raise the topic of autism with their patients if they suspect they are autistic.

Other useful resources

Health Passport

Created by local NHS services, Leeds Autism AIM and Leeds Mind, this is a free resource to help you communicate health and mental health needs when accessing NHS services in Leeds.

Once downloaded and completed, please send it to [email protected] or post them to Learning Disability & Autism Team, 2nd Floor, Trust Headquarters, St James’s University Hospital, Beckett Street, Leeds, LS9 7TF so they can be uploaded electronically.

Get in touch

If you have any questions about how to use any of the resources, please get in touch. Email the Health Access Project team at [email protected].