Mission
  1. The support and enablement of Neurodivergent People to lead healthy and fulfilling lives, achieve their life goals and realise their potential in order to achieve equality and fully contribute to society.
    1. By Neurodivergent People we mean people on the autistic spectrum, who may also have ADHD, Dyslexia, Dyspraxia and co-occurring conditions such as epilepsy, OCD, Bipolar etc…
    2. Autistic Spectrum Condition includes Autism, Asperger’s, PDD-NOA
  2. We will provide an online platform for those who want to find detailed information about Autism Spectrum Condition and Neurodiversity. This interactive platform will be organised by those on the spectrum who can offer advice and guidance based on their own experiences and understanding autism from within.
  3. We are an autistic-led group that promotes (self)advocacy by neurodivergent people for neurodivergent people. We will enable Neurodivergent people to support each other, provide peer to peer support and coaching right from the suspicion of the diagnosis, throughout the diagnosis process and beyond.
  4. We will support Neurodivergent people to achieve their life goals such as obtaining qualifications, achieving and retaining fulfilling employment, forming and raising a family and aging happily by providing tailored peer to peer advice and support based on our lived experience and inside knowledge of our condition.
  5. Too often those classed as with so called ‘low level needs’ only receive support at crisis point. We will support and enable all neurodivergent people who need specific tailored support in order to successfully achieve their potential.
  6. We will advocate for autism acceptance as part of human diversity, achieving equality for neurodivergent people in all aspects of human endeavour they choose.
  7. We will operate an open national Neurodivergent Self Advocacy organisation that will provide a forum (“a place to discuss”), with an open process for autistic adults to discuss priorities and needs. We will be the voice of adults on the spectrum, at a national scale that is distinct from the voice of professionals working in autism and organisations set up to provide support for families with children on the spectrum. This provides us with the authority to discuss autistic needs from a Neurodivergent perspective for which current structures have no capacity.
  8. We will provide a space for autistic people   to contribute, to get involved, to use the wealth of skill and knowledge autistic people have, utilise their lived experience and inside knowledge of autism. Autistic people can do a lot to support each other and basically themselves.
What we do
  1. Autism knowledge: we structure information and advice by solutions to ourreal problems:
    1. On the journey to diagnosis: to do or not, what it means, what it doesn’t mean, social model of disability, the concept of neurodiversity, building positive identity and self-esteem, how to use it, e,g, laws, employment etc
    2. Wellbeing: getting anxiety and MH under control, support with symptom management for co-morbidities and co-occurring conditions of various type
    3. Overcoming personal barriers:
    4. Getting a job (understanding own skills and the job market, cv’s, interview skills, whether to disclose or not, when to disclose), retaining a job (how to ask for support, who to talk to, what are your rights, how to cope with stressful situations, how to deal with some common issues)
    5. Forming a family, keeping it together – relationship advice
  2. A forum based support group for the neurodivergent community – a way to find support for the broadest range of needs
  3. Develop new services tailored to autistic adults.
  4. Promote the change in attitudes towards autistic people towards full acceptance and equality. De-stigmatise autistic way of being, de-normalise the language of deficits and the presumption of the NT way of being as the only norm. Campaign for equal justice in relation to disability- and autism hate crime and autism hate speech.
  5. Self- advocacy – forum to discuss priorities for autistic people, to inform consultations on policy, provide reports, respond to consultations, develop and publish position statements.
  6. Campaign on our priorities in line with aims as a part of our activities
  7. Advocacy for autistic people for services and support – we select a specific project and advocate for this
  8. We will co-operate with other organisations with similar aims, especially with autistic-lead organisations.