NU-CUES Group Programme

Newcastle University –Coping with Uncertainty in Everyday Situations
(NU-CUES©) Group programme

The 8-week NU–CUES group programme was designed by Researchers at Newcastle University for parents of young people with autism (aged 6 to 16 years).  The programme focuses on helping parents to recognise, understand and support their children with autism to manage intolerance of uncertainty.

What is Intolerance of Uncertainty? 

Intolerance of uncertainty is the term used to explain feelings of fear and anxiety when things feel uncertain.  It is something that can be common for people who have autism.

Studies suggest that a reduction in the intolerance of uncertainty is associated with reduction in anxiety and improvements in everyday functioning in children and young people.

What happens during a NU-CUES group?

• You will be offered a free 30-minute screening appointment to make sure the group is right for you.
• Parents will be invited to attend the weekly group sessions which will either be delivered online via our secure conferencing platform or face to face in our group space.
• There will be 8 group sessions in total, each lasting 2 hours.
• Each parent will be helped to identify a specific everyday uncertain situation (target situation) to focus on and will be supported by other parents and group facilitators to try out new strategies to help their child manage in their target situation.  
• Parents will be given ‘tasks for home’ to undertake with their child in between sessions.
• Questionnaires will also be completed by parents at various stages during the programme to determine progress.  

Upcoming Groups

If you are interested in attending a future CUES group, please get in touch with us on 0131 378 9700 or email [email protected] to register your interest. Before attending the CUES programme, we will need you to complete a brief questionnaire and attend a screening appointment with one of Senior Clinical Psychologists to make sure the group is right for you

If you are interested in finding out more about CUES, you can read the article here. You can also download the article in PDF format