DECEMBER 2024
Welcome to our monthly newsletter for our member organisations and all of their staff.
If you’re receiving this newsletter, it’s because the organisation you work for is part of the Autism Alliance.
New to the Alliance?
We are a national partnership of not for profit organisations that support autistic people and their families. Our members represent a range of sectors, including adult social care, education, and community support. Together they support thousands of autistic children, young people and adults across the UK.
We work together to share our knowledge, skills and experience in ways which can improve outcomes and reduce inequalities for autistic people - and ultimately help us achieve our vision of a society where autistic people can thrive.
You can view all our member organisations here and find out more about our work more generally on our website.
What’s in here for you?
This is the second of our monthly newsletters for all staff. We hope you find it useful and always welcome your views about what else we could include. This month features:
AUTISM IN THE NEWS: our round-up of some recent news stories about autism.
HAVE YOUR SAY: surveys, consultations and other opportunities to influence.
ALLIANCE NEWS: the latest about what we’ve been doing and have planned for members.
INFLUENCING POLICY & GOVERNMENT: a summary of our lobbying activities.
RESOURCES: here we share resources about autism that we think you will find useful.
NEWS FROM OUR MEMBERS: some stories from our member organisations.
RESEARCH ROUND-UP: in partnership with Autistica.
WHAT TO SEE…READ…WATCH: some linked to autism, some just recommended by us!
JOB VACANCIES: free listings from our member organisations.
AND FINALLY: a farewell thought or two.
AUTISM IN THE NEWS
Call for autism 'screening' for premature children
The BBC reports on a mum who is calling for a national screening programme for all children born premature after her son was diagnosed with autism and ADHD after an almost five-year wait.
Two in five pupils in Scotland have additional support needs
Children and Young People Now reports on new figures that show the proportion of pupils in Scotland with additional support needs (ASN) is at a record high after doubling over the last decade.
SEND: Deficits to reach ‘absurd’ £8bn without reform
TES highlights a new report from the Institute of Fiscal Studies which says that increasing specialist provision in mainstream schools will be costly and require ‘massive change’.
Are special schools being left out of the mainstream inclusion push?
TES reports that headteachers are saying that efforts to make schools more inclusive risk ignoring the huge amount of expertise in the specialist sector
British Army mulls recruiting people with autism, ADHD, or mental health issues
The Defense Post reports on how the British Army is considering changing its rules which automatically reject applicants who have autism, ADHD, or a history of depression.
Autistic boy's own pies replace stolen York Christmas batch
The BBC reports on an 11-year-old autistic boy, who travelled more than 120 miles to deliver a batch of pies he made himself to Michelin-starred chef Tommy Banks, who lost 2,500 of them to thieves.
HAVE YOUR SAY
Here you can find the latest surveys, consultations and research participation requests.
Feel free to share them with anyone you think might be interested.
RESEARCH: seeking perspectives of autistic women and autistic AFABs
A PhD researcher at the University of Plymouth is seeking autistic women and/or autistic people who were Assigned Female At Birth (AFABs) to share their opinions and experiences. If you are interested there is more information in the poster linked below.
SURVEY: the future of the NHS
The government has launched a national conversation about the future of the NHS, inviting the public to share their experiences, views and ideas to shape the 10-Year Health Plan.
To support as many people as possible to be able to join this conversation about the NHS a variety of formats and ways to respond to the questions are now available on this website that meet a range of accessibility needs including BSL and easy read.
You can respond as either an individual or as part of an organisation. To help with the latter, there are resources to engage local communities available on this page, which includes accessible versions of the ‘workshop in a box’. Materials include a facilitator guide, slide deck for running workshops, and a feedback form for online submissions.
For any questions, please email changenhs@thinksinsight.com
RESEARCH: seeking parents of autistic young adults who have transitioned from child to adult mental health services
A researcher at Royal Holloway University is running a qualitative interview study, aiming to understand how parents of autistic young people experience the process of their child transitioning from Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) to Adult Mental Health Services (AMHS).
If you are interested view the poster linked below, which has further information.
RESEARCH: seeking professionals, who support autistic people with learning disabilities, in their menstrual support needs
A researcher at Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh is exploring the important aspects of the menstrual cycle that should be considered when supporting autistic people with learning disabilities.
If you are interested, view the poster linked below, which contains more information.
ALLIANCE NEWS
Excellent feedback for our free online workshop on EHCP and SEND
Thank you to those of you who promoted this event to families in your communities. It was a great success, bringing the expertise of our colleagues at Rook Irwin Sweeney direct to families who wanted to know more about SEND and the EHCP process.
If you missed the workshop and would like a copy of the slides, please contact Alice via email. We just ask that the presentation is not shared on public resources such as websites, as it is a membership resource; but please do share this within your organisation and with anyone using your services who may find it valuable.
We will continue to work with our partners to find future workshop topics. If you have any ideas of what you or your families would like to see covered, please get in touch with Alice.
Welcome to our new members!
We are always welcoming new organisations into the Alliance and the past few months have been no exception. This quarter we have been joined by:
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Active Prospects is a community benefit society working across the South-East of England, enabling autistic people, and people with learning disabilities, physical and mental health needs, to live full and aspiring lives. They provide residential and supported living services, and services that enable employment. This includes the creation of bespoke homes and support to enable people with complex needs to leave institutional settings. Active Prospects are also specialists in facilitating people-led co-production, and working with partner organisations to address health inequalities. In 2023 they were rated as the top large care employer in the UK in the Great Places to Work survey – based on the feedback of their own staff, and benchmarked against other employers across the country. They were also highlighted for their approaches to employee wellbeing, and to supporting women in the workplace.
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The Centre for ADHD and Autism Support is a charity providing information, training, support groups and practical help to residents of North-West London. Their support services encompass education, benefits, parenting and care advice with signposting to other agencies if appropriate. They also offer specialised parenting courses, workshops and training. The charity is based in a centre in Eastcote, Hillingdon, offering three hub services for young people, adults and families. Their dual focus on autism and ADHD is to allow autistic individuals with ADHD and their parents/carers to benefit from the significant overlaps in need between autism and ADHD by bringing a range of knowledge and experience under one umbrella.
You can view all of our member organisations on our website here.
Extending our reach on social media
Like many organisations, we have decided to join a range of social media sites, to ensure we reach as wide an audience as possible. You can find us on the communities below. If you’re part of them, please do follow us. We are always happy to share our members’ news too - just tag us!
November meeting of Autism Alliance members
Our latest Members’ Meeting brought together leaders from across our member organisations for a face to face event in London. The day included a discussion with Rebecca Bauers, Director for people with a learning disability and autistic people at the Care Quality Commission; plus an update on local authority funding and the 2024 Budget from Tom Noon of Cordis Bright consultancy.
Members also heard directly from Professor Martin Knapp, from the London School of Economics, about our latest research into the economic impact of autism (see article further down this section); and discussed our Practice Forum’s work on developing an autism specialism framework.
The day ended with an uplifting presentation from Tamsin Conquest at the Kent Autistic Trust (one of our members) about their work.
Our next Members’ Meeting is in March in Birmingham.
Update on our professional groups
As part of their membership of the Autism Alliance, organisations are able to nominate members of staff to attend our professional groups. These groups are a forum for staff to share expertise and provide support for each other, as well as work on specific projects. These groups are:
Practice Forum
HR Group
Policy Group
Communications & Campaigns Group
CEOs
Spotlight on the Practice Forum
The Autism Alliance Practice Forum is now into its stride, after an initial year of discussion focusing on ‘the essentials’ – what is autism, what is ‘success’ in practice, what evidence underpins our practice, and what we mean by ‘specialist’ practice.
The main new piece of Autism Alliance work in the practice space is the development of an autism specialism framework, which we briefed on at our last Members’ Meeting. The purpose of this work is to explore whether/how a framework setting out the characteristics of specialist autism organisations could be helpful in policy, commissioning, and for people and families, by adding value to the accreditations, quality marks and guidance currently available. This is also relevant to the broader need to ensure our specialist sector is visible across policy and the public, and that our work and its impact is understood.
After producing an early draft outline of a framework, covering organisational governance, practice and the skills/attributes of practitioners, we have issued a survey to CEOs and practice leads across the membership to gather views on the content of a specialism framework, and how it might be used. This will be used to produce a revised version of the draft autism specialism framework to consult on in early 2025. As well as consulting members, we plan to run sessions with autistic people and their families to bring their voices to the heart of this work.
The Alliance is also continuing to explore the concept of ‘understanding’ – as both a core/fundamental part of practice in our sector, and a fundamental basis for progress in improving people’s lives through Government policy and change across society.
Alongside this, the Autism Alliance Practice Forum continues to meet on a quarterly basis, providing a forum to raise and discuss practice issues, share developments in practice, and contribute to projects like the autism specialism framework. Practice Forum group members are currently contributing to a benchmarking exercise, providing details of their organisational framework for practice so we can identify areas of common interest, gaps and areas for development.
If you would like to nominate a representative to join the Practice Forum, please contact Nikki.
The full list of the groups’ meetings for next year can be viewed here.
If you are interested in attending any of them, your CEO should contact Nikki to nominate you.
Prioritising prevention for autistic people
The Autism Alliance led a workshop at the National Children and Adult Services Conference 2024 in Liverpool. The purpose was to spotlight prevention, one of the Government’s stated three shifts for healthcare, and highlight positive examples of local commissioners and professionals who are prioritising prevention for autistic people and their families. The session was very well attended and underlined the importance of local champions doing more to share their work, and how they made it happen.
Autism Central to continue
We have seen NHS England launch the re-procurement process for Autism Central, the peer education service delivered by a collaboration of partners including the Autism Alliance. As we approach the end of the first period of funding for the service, the proposed re-procurement looks to be for a minimum of three years. So far, we are not aware that funding has been confirmed, as this is expected to be part of the Spending Review process, but it is positive that the re-procurement is underway.
What does Autism Central do?
In case you missed it in last month’s newsletter, here’s an explanation of this fantastic resource…
Autism Central is a peer education programme, commissioned by NHS England. It aims to build knowledge and understanding of autism and empower families and carers to advocate for autistic people they support. Local support helps families to get the right understanding and adjustments in place across the services they use.
Everything the programme does is informed by, or co-produced with autistic people, families and carers.
Autism Central hubs deliver the programme in seven regions across England through group and one-to-one sessions, giving information on local services. Each session is delivered by parents and carers of autistic people who are happy to share their knowledge and experience with others.
Some of our members within the Autism Alliance are delivering the service as regional hubs. We are also part of the national steering group for the programme, which the Autism Alliance chairs.
Our new research: the economic case for autism
This month we were pleased to launch the new report from the London School of Economics commissioned by the Autism Alliance UK and Autistica, focusing on the economic case for prioritising autism in policy and reform. The report has been led by Professor Martin Knapp and a team from the LSE’s Care Policy and Evaluation Centre (CPEC), and is an important resource for our sector and for policy development.
The report finds that:
There is a strong economic case for prioritising autism in policy and reform. Providing the right support for autistic people and their families can lead to significant economic benefits and more cost-effective spending of public funds.
This economic case goes alongside the social and moral responsibility to improve outcomes for autistic people. The continuing inequalities and stigma they face are as shocking as they are unacceptable.
Some services and supports have both evidence of impact and evidence of economic benefit, and the LSE recommend some of these services and supports are scaled up now, and some are evaluated further before scaling.
There are also gaps in evidence, and a need for Government to act to address these gaps.
In all cases, it is critical that research is shaped and informed by the voices and insights of autistic people and their families.
The report concludes that the National Strategy for Autistic Children, Young People and Adults should be used by the Government to marshal the evidence on services and supports for autistic people, address evidence gaps, and push this evidence into the big programmes of reform on SEND, health and social care. This should include urgent work to develop and publish the five-year Research Action Plan for autism committed in the National Strategy in 2021, but so far not delivered.
The Autism Alliance has shared the report with Rachel Reeves, Wes Streeting, Bridget Phillipson and Stephen Kinnock, and in January we will be hosting a roundtable for Government policy officials to discuss the report with the LSE team.
INFLUENCING POLICY & GOVERNMENT
Government’s policy reform agenda kicks off
Since the Budget on 30th October, we have seen announcements from the Government which start to move forward planning for reform across areas of policy relevant to our work, notably in SEND education and the NHS. More details below.
Mental Health Bill starts its way through Parliament
The new Mental Health Bill has now been published and is working its way through Parliament. At a briefing with the Department for Health and Social Care team leading the Bill, it emerged that the Government won’t activate powers in the Bill relating to autism and learning disability until there is ‘sufficient community support’. While the principle is correct – having community support in place is essential to ensure autistic people aren’t just pushed through a different route to confinement in mental health hospital – it seems clear there is no coherent or concerted Government plan to ensure community support, meaning that it is likely to be a long time until the powers are activated. The Autism Alliance is challenging this, alongside other national autism organisations.
NHS Consultation launched
The Government has launched its consultation on the NHS 10-Year Change plan. The Autism Alliance has responded to the call for submissions from organisations (now closed), and you can read our submission here. The two points we have elevated above all others are: (a) the urgent need for action to stabilise autism assessment/diagnosis and evolve the assessment model over the next 5-10 years; and (b) the urgent need for action to address the failure of Building the Right Support to ensure community support is in place for autistic people – which includes funding for the services and supports our members provide.
Advisory groups set up to advise on SEND reform
The establishment of groups to advise the Department for Education on SEND reform, including an Expert Advisory Group and – following work with the DfE autism team – a Neurodiversity Task and Finish Group to advise on how neurodivergent children and young people can be supported in mainstream education. The Autism Alliance will be part of the neurodiversity group, and we aim to bring our collective voice, knowledge and experience to the group’s work and recommendations. At this stage, the current SEND Improvement Plan is expected to be extended for a further year (2025/26) while reform plans are developed, consulted on and finalised. The Government has also announced a £740 million capital investment plan to create more specialist places in mainstream schools.
Our response to the Curriculum and Assessment Review
Alongside these developments, the Autism Alliance has responded to the call for evidence from the Department for Education’s Curriculum and Assessment Review, reflecting the continuing poor outcomes experienced by autistic children and young people in education, and highlighting the need for flexibility in curriculum delivery. You can read our response here.
Meeting with Stephen Kinnock MP, Minister for Care
Earlier this month, the Alliance met with Stephen Kinnock, Minister for Care, alongside other autism organisations, autistic people, researchers and NHS England. This was an important opportunity to set out some key asks as the Spending Review moves forward. Given the Minister has responsibility for the National Autism Strategy, we used the time to focus on autism-specific asks as the wider need for social care reform is well-known and an issue on which the Minister is receiving continual lobbying. As in our NHS consultation response, we urged the Minister to act to stabilise and reform autism assessment and bring forward an urgent plan for community support. We also called for implementation of the National Autism Strategy to be picked up again, with the full involvement of autistic people and our sector.
Employer NI contributions increase
The most significant news for many of our members is the Budget decision by the Chancellor to raise employer national insurance contributions (on top of increases in the National Minimum Wage), which will further increase financial pressure on organisations, including our members, and has led to a series of campaigns from across the charity and social care sectors calling for exemption or reimbursement.
We heard earlier this month from NCVO and ACEVO that following their call for charities to be exempt, the Chancellor has not changed the Government’s position. Campaigns from the social care sector continue, including from ProvidersUnite, but it seems unlikely there will be any further change in the position. There have been signs that local authorities will be reimbursed for the NI increase for special schools, but there are doubts about the extent to which this will really reach schools.
The Autism Alliance is continuing to support the campaigns in social care. Alongside this, we are in discussion with VODG and ARC England about how we can work together to raise awareness of the critical contribution made by our members for autistic people and people with a learning disability, across social care, education and wider community support.
These increases in costs are in the context of the Government’s overarching plan to ‘fix the foundations’ and reform public services. The rhetoric remains that change will be over the long term – plans for SEND, the NHS and National Care Service are repeatedly being linked to a 10-year timeframe – and that things will remain difficult before they get better. The key question is how soon change will start to be felt, and whether this will be soon enough to prevent larger scale collapse in services, particularly in social care. The Spending Review – which has now been pushed back from April to June 2025 – will be fundamentally important, in particular in the level of funding committed for local authorities over the three-year period.
As plans for reform are developed alongside the Spending Review, from our perspective it is vital: that they are plans for deep reform, not just surface level change – the system is fundamentally not working and system-level change is required; and that they are not driven by an ideology of cost reduction, but focus instead on achieving best value for money, particularly by meeting needs as the basis for improving lives. We will be advocating strongly on both points. It's also worth noting that the Health and Social Care Select Committee has launched an inquiry into the costs of inaction on social care reform, which may help in unlocking action from Government, and we will be submitting evidence.
For now, our members with public funding contracts are likely to face continuing challenges as the Local Government Finance Settlement for 2025/26 is confirmed on 19 December and fee negotiations begin. For others, the wider challenges of the economic climate will continue to create barriers. We want to continue to use our professional groups to bring members together, share information and strategies, and collaborate to create a stronger sector. Alongside this we will continue to identify opportunities for useful resources, contacts and guest speakers that can support our members.
RESOURCES
Guide aims to reshape language used about autism
The Autism Education Trust have worked with their Autistic Young Experts to co-produce a powerful terminology guide called ‘Why Words Matter’, aims to reshape the language used about autism.
Rooted in the belief that autism is a difference, not a deficit, the guide challenges outdated language that labels or diminishes autistic people and can make autistic people feel that they somehow need ‘fixing’.
‘Relationships’ podcast from Autism Central
Reviewed by Alice Mace,
Executive Assistant at the Autism Alliance
Autism Central continue their successful podcast series with the second one focussing on autism and relationships.
In episode one Holly Sprake-Hill speaks to autistic author, public speaker and diagnostician Sarah Hendrickx about romantic relationships and life with her autistic partner.
Sarah is a highly accomplished and engaging speaker who talks openly and honestly about both her own romantic history and the highs and lows of relationships in general for autistic people. This makes the podcast a useful resource, particularly in a world where many people’s ideas of romance stem from the media, a sketchy and unreliable source at the best of times. Sarah talks about the type of work that she and her partner have put into their relationship and also, crucially, on her own self-awareness. “You have to put a lot of work into yourself” she notes.
The conversation touches on areas of vulnerability and exploitation, hygiene and politeness, the good sense to run things by someone you can trust. Sarah is emphatic in the belief that we owe it to our young people to give them the tools and support needed for successful relationships, and that includes noting that not all relationships look conventional, nor should they.
The podcast supports two interesting ideas: one, that what is good for autistic people is good for everyone – increased self-awareness, good communication, honesty and trust, and two, that autistic people are often without a group of negative behaviours or fakery that can so often make a relationship toxic or failed, for example, being disingenuous. Sarah goes on to add that while the way she and her partner communicate may seem harsh to others – referring to him as “my current partner” -, it is simply the truth, and that they are the better for sticking to just that.
And there is perhaps no simpler truth than this one shared in the conversation, “the vast majority of people would like a person in the world that is their person.”
I would recommend this podcast for teenage years upwards.
To keep up to date with the latest episodes of this podcast series, you need to sign up to the Autism Central newsletter via the button below. There is a new episode every few weeks.
Understanding autism course for personal assistants
Autism Central have launched a free online training course called ‘understanding autism’ for personal assistants. This online training course is aimed at paid carers of autistic people who would like to gain a deeper understanding of autism and how best to support the autistic people they work with.
If you employ a personal assistant who would benefit from completing this training, please share the course with them.
Why complete the course?
improve your understanding and skills to provide better support
learn from people with lived experience
interactive learning with questions and films
cost effective – it's free and concise with a 40 minute completion time
easy to access online, in your own time
certificate of completion.
What will you learn?
develop an understanding of autism and differing presentations
improve your understanding of co-occurring conditions
practical tips and strategies to support autistic people.
Navigating education and working well with school
Autism Central have launched a second series of the 'Finding the Balance' webinars with Dr Naomi Fisher and Eliza Fricker. This new series aims to support parents and carers of autistic people to learn more about navigating education and how they can work well with their school.
Each episode features a conversation on a different topic with entertaining and relatable illustrations and practical tips. The series has seven episodes including ‘Reasonable adjustments and EHCPs’, ‘School attendance’ and ‘Why is school hard’.
To watch a short clip or sign-up to see the full episodes click on the button below.
Autistica Tips Hub
The Autistica Tips Hub is a free app to help you find reliable autism tips and evidence-based resources. Created with and for the autistic community, it offers practical tips and high-quality autism resources to make everyday life easier.
Whether you're looking for tips on daily routines, mental health, or professional guidance, the Tips Hub has you covered. It's a place to ask questions, share what has helped you, and connect with the autistic community.
NEWS FROM OUR MEMBERS
Each month we will share news from our member organisations. Feel free to send your stories to our Communications Lead, Nikki, here.
The PDA Society
If you’re not already aware of Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA), then the PDA Society (who joined the Alliance earlier this year) have produced some materials which will help explain it.
The first is the ‘PDA in our own words’ report, which was written in partnership with four PDAers. It highlights things that are going wrong for people, and how knowing about PDA and having people put in the right accommodations helps.
They have also co-produced a new video, ‘You can’t see how I feel’, which comes directly from people within their community who have bravely shared their stories. It highlights how everyone experiences PDA differently - including what they find hard and what can make things easier. What doesn’t change is the devastating impact it can have on a person when no one understands them, and they can’t get the help they need. Watch it now either online or below:
Transforming Autism
Transforming Autism have secured a grant from the National Lottery to develop and launch an online 24/7 Early Intervention Parent Portal. The Portal will be interactive (not static/ advisory) , parent co-produced and led, membership only to encourage parents to share experiences and become peer to peer mentors. Any autism charity in the Alliance who would like to get involved please get in touch with their CEO, Tracy Pepper via email here.
They have also secured support to host an online Early Intervention conference in November 2025. They are looking for partners/sponsors so again if other charities in the Alliance would like to get involved, please contact Tracy directly on the email above.
Autistica
Autistica is marking its 20th anniversary with the release of a powerful short film, ‘Our World, 2030’. This two-minute piece captures the challenges that autistic and neurodivergent people face, while also highlighting Autistica’s work towards its ambitious 2030 Goals – a vision for a world where autistic people can lead happier, healthier, and longer lives:
Autism Hampshire (part of Avenues Group)
Autism Hampshire has launched an urgent appeal to raise £50,000 to cover a critical shortfall in funding for their Serendipity community groups for autistic adults. The groups have been running for over a decade and rely heavily on donations and grants to sustain them; they provide essential support for over 200 autistic adults across Hampshire. Due to the challenging external fundraising environment, securing funding has become tougher than ever. You can find out more about how to support here.
They have also published some useful tips for managing Christmas, whether you are autistic yourself or have autistic family members friends or colleagues. They highlight how creating your own unique festive traditions can be liberating, as well as ensuring that no one, autistic or not, feels pressured to take part in activities that they find unpleasant, or misses out on anything they genuinely enjoy. Read more here.
Don’t miss our Job Vacancies section further down, where you can see adverts from our member organisations.
RESEARCH ROUND UP
Every month we’ll bring you a round-up of timely and interesting news from the research world.
This is provided by one of our members, Autistica - the UK’s leading autism research charity.
Creating personalised strengths and needs profiles
Most people seeking an ADHD or autism diagnosis are on waiting lists for years. While this happens, many will struggle with unmet support needs.
Autistica recently explored the suitability of a strengths and needs profiling tool called the ICF Toolkit™. The toolkit offers personalised profiles to individuals with or without a diagnosis of ADHD and/or autism and is a rare example of an evidence-based supports needs tool that also focuses on strengths. Autistica’s early findings confirm that the ICF Toolkit™ has significant potential for use in the UK to offer personalised support across someone’s lifetime in education, healthcare and employment settings.
With further research Autistica will trial the ICF Toolkit™ in education, healthcare and employment settings in real time to demonstrate its impact in offering personalised support to those who need it most.
Regulating Emotions-Strengthening Adolescent Resilience (RE-STAR)
Young people who are autistic or have ADHD have a higher risk for developing depression during adolescence, compared to neurotypical young people. Currently, we don’t understand why this is the case.
RE-STAR is a multi-disciplinary collective of academic researchers, neurodivergent young people and stakeholder practitioners. Together, they are exploring the links between young people’s experiences of and response to adverse emotional events and settings in school, and their emergent risk of depression.
This project is breaking new grounds in collaborative research. Researchers are working with young people and combining arts and science-based methods for data collection and knowledge exchange, with a shared aim to find more effective strategies for supporting the emotional wellbeing of neurodivergent adolescents.
The Neurodiversity Employers Index – NDEI® Market Report
The NDEI® is the first gold-standard evidence-based workplace neuroinclusion index, developed by Autistica to help organisations attract and retain neurodivergent talent and support thriving neurodiverse teams.
This year, 118 pioneering organisations spanning 10 sectors participated in the NDEI® to learn more about becoming leaders in workplace neuroinclusion.
This month, Autistica launched the first-ever NDEI® Market Report 2024, which uses anonymised aggregated data from this year's participants to identify key themes in workplace neuroinclusion across organisation size, sector and location.
WHAT TO SEE…READ…WATCH…
‘Ready Eddie Go!’ focuses on how to navigate Christmas
‘My Awesome Autism’ books were created by Nikki Saunders when she couldn’t find any books for children that reflected what life was like for her autistic son, Tyler.
The books have since been made into the ‘Ready Eddie Go!’ animated series on Sky Kids, narrated by former Doctor Who star, Jodie Whittaker.
This year’s Christmas special features a version of Silent Night, sung by singer, Paloma Faith and focuses on how to navigate all the elements of Christmas (from flashing lights to loud Christmas jingles).
What we’re watching…
‘Ted Lasso’ (TV drama)
Recommended by Nikki Belfield
Communications and Membership Lead
Let me start by saying that I really am not bothered about football. But this programme is not really about the sport, it’s about life.
I am currently watching all series of Ted Lasso for the third time. It’s my own drama therapy - reminding me that the world can be funny and inspiring, and that people can really care.
If you decide to give it a go, please stay for a few episodes. You only get a few hints of the quirky humour but, as the characters develop, so does the warmth and the belief that every human being is redeemable if only they listened to Ted.
The story? Oh yes…it’s about an American Football coach who comes over to Britain to manage a soccer team. No, that didn’t win me over initially either. But now I’m running the Roy Kent Appreciation Society, in thrall to his bushy eyebrows and monosyllabic grunts.
There’s hope for us all.
What we’re reading…
‘Ghost Stories’ by M.R. James
Recommended by Adam Micklethwaite, Director of the Autism Alliance
Every year in the run-up to Christmas, I read all of MR James's ghost stories - which he wrote to read to his students on Christmas Eve by a roaring fire in King's College, Cambridge - and some of the characters act in ways which might suggest they're autistic. Some commentators have also suggested James himself might have been neurodivergent. Anyway, they're commonly regarded as the finest ghost stories in English, and I'd have to say I agree.
If you want to recommend any books, films, programmes, podcasts, etc. then please send your thoughts through to Nikki via email here.
JOB VACANCIES
Autism Unlimited exists to support and empower autistic children, adults and their families. Partnering with them to find solutions and provide educational and life skills training, to help them lead a rich and fulfilled life.
Location: Christchurch, Dorset
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£12.00 - £12.20 p/hour + allowances
Deadline: 24 December 2024
Location: Kinson
Supporting individual 2:1 in their own home. Supporting with day to day activities
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£12.00 - £12.20 p/hour + allowances
Deadline: 24 December 2024
Location: Bournemouth
Supporting individual 2:1 in their own home. Supporting with day to day activities
Autism Anglia provides personalised services, care and support to autistic children, adults and their families in East Anglia. This includes assessment and diagnosis, outreach work, supported living, as well as education and residential homes.
Location: Essex, Suffolk and Norfolk
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£11.68 per hour
Deadline: ongoing
Location: Colchester - various locations
Full and part time roles available.
Opportunities available, working from our Supported Living Services in Colchester, Essex.
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£13.67 per hour
Deadline: 31 January 2025
Location: Colchester, Peldon
An exciting opportunity available for Team Leader on a full-time basis. Working within our Supported Living Services based in Colchester.
Resources for Autism provides services, supporting and enabling autistic people to live happy and fulfilling lives, across London and the West Midlands. A values-driven organisation which employs values-drive people who want to make a difference.
Location: London
These three roles are based at a new Autism Hub for Children, based at our 858 Finchley Road site, which will be run in partnership with the London Borough of Barnet. The vision of the hub, is to create a welcoming, safe, neuro-affirmative place where autistic people and those who love and care for them can access the support and social opportunities they need at the right time, enabling them to live their best life. It will also be a place where professionals can connect, collaborate and learn ensuring services are joined-up and effective.
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£34-35k
Deadline: 8 January 2025
Location: Barnet CYP Autism Hub, 858 Finchley Road, NW11 6AB
The Autism Hub Manager is the lead role of this project who will be responsible for certain elements of its direct delivery, managing partnerships and coordinating key professionals and maintaining responsibility for the building/ venue day to day.
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£27-30k
Deadline: 8 January 2025
Location: Barnet CYP Autism Hub, 858 Finchley Road, NW11 6AB
The Autism Support Worker roles provide access, support, outreach and reception services within an Children & Young people’s Autism Hub, and support to the Hub Manager. The role is responsible for ensuring that services delivered in the hub are effectively supported, monitored and focused to meet the needs of autistic children 0-19 years and their families.
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£21-22k
Deadline: 8 January 2025
Location: Barnet CYP Autism Hub, 858 Finchley Road, NW11 6AB
This role will provide effective and efficient admin support to the Hub team as well as acting as the first point of contact both digitally and in person for staff, service users and professionals.
Avenues is a specialist provider of support services for autistic people, people with a learning disability and acquired brain injury. We know well supported people support people well. From the moment you join us you’ll get all the support you need, through your local team and the wider Avenues Group.
Location: London, Kent, Surrey, Essex, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire, Shropshire and Hampshire.
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£23,264 per annum (pro rata)
Deadline: ongoing
Location: Tonbridge, Tunbridge Wells, Medway, Biggin Hill, Southampton, Chertsey.
Vacancies for a range of Support Workers working in Supported Living or Registered homes, to support adults with learning disabilities and autism to engage in all day to day living activities. No experience is needed as we provide full training!
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£23,264 per annum (pro rata)
Deadline: ongoing
Location: Shropshire - Weston Ryhn, Church Stretton, Shrewsbury.
Vacancies for a range of Female Support Workers to support individuals with Acquired Brain Injuries, Learning Disabilities and complex needs in their own homes. Most of the support we provide is 24/7 but shift patterns will vary.
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£27,969 per annum
Deadline: 7 January 2025
Location: Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk
Vacancy for a full time Assistant Service Manager to join our team at our service based in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk. The role will be a mixture of admin as well as support shifts where you will support the Service Manager and lead the team of Support Workers.
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£27,969 per annum (pro-rata)
Deadline: 27 December 2024
Location: Horley, Surrey
Vacancy for for an experienced part time Assistant Service Manager to join our team in Horley. This is a job share opportunity working 24 hours per week. The role will be a mixture of admin as well as support shifts.
Remarkable Autism provides a range of initiatives, including Wargrave House School and Sixth Form, Ascent College, and the Sundial Therapy service - all to support and educate people, create opportunities, and provide integrated services that add value for autistic individuals and their families throughout their lives.
Location: Merseyside
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Pro-rata salary £22,740 – £23,767 per annum including SEN
Deadline: 5 January 2025
Location: Wargrave House School, 449 Wargrave Road, Newton-Le-Willows, Merseyside, WA12 8RS.
You will be a key part of the class team under the guidance of the class teacher. Working alongside other teaching support assistants, you will help to support and develop our learners on their educational and life journey.
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Pro-rata salary £24,485 - £25,619 per annum including SEN
Deadline: 5 January 2025
Location: Wargrave House School, 449 Wargrave Road, Newton-Le-Willows, Merseyside, WA12 8RS.
An opportunity has arisen for hard-working, highly skilled individuals to work with our young people. We are looking for qualified Senior Teaching Support Assistants who wish to develop their skills in this interesting and challenging field.
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Pro-rata salary £16,096 per annum (£8.60ph) including SEN
Deadline: 5 January 2025
Location: Wargrave House School, 449 Wargrave Road, Newton-Le-Willows, Merseyside, WA12 8RS.
We are partnering with Realise Training to find enthusiastic apprentices to join our team. You will support students under the class teacher's guidance and work with other teaching assistants.
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Pro-rata salary £22,740 – £23,767 per annum including SEN
Deadline: 5 January 2025
Location: Ascent College, 449 Wargrave Road, Newton-Le-Willows, Merseyside, WA12 8RS.
You will be a key part of the class team under the guidance of the class teacher. Working alongside other student learning mentors, you will help to support and develop our students on their educational and life journey.
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Pro-rata salary £16,096 per annum (£8.60ph) including SEN
Deadline: 5 January 2025
Location: Ascent College, 449 Wargrave Road, Newton-Le-Willows, Merseyside, WA12 8RS.
Do you want to work in adult services but need experience and a Level 3 Teaching Support Assistant qualification? Our apprenticeship programme is perfect for you! We are partnering with Realise Training to find enthusiastic apprentices to join our team. You will support students under the class teacher's guidance and work with other learning support mentors.
AND FINALLY….
Thank you for reading our second monthly newsletter for all staff in our member organisations. We really appreciate your feedback, including suggestions for content. If you have any thoughts you can email Nikki here.
If you know of colleagues in another organisation who might be interested in joining the Alliance, please share our ‘Join Us’ brochure with them, which you can view or download here.
Finally, thank you for all that you do for autistic people and their families. We hope you manage to get some time to enjoy the festive break for yourself.
See you next year!
The Autism Alliance Team.
