Who are we?
We are the Autism Alliance UK
Our Alliance brings together:
Our members
Our members are not-for-profit organisations that support autistic people and their families.
Our supporters
Our supporters include autistic people, their families and allies - and anyone who supports our goal of a society where autistic people can thrive.
Our partners
Our partners are organisations or individuals who are able to provide financial investment and support for us to grow and develop.
Our staff
Our staffing team is small for a purpose - so we can concentrate on achieving impact without needing to maintain a large organisation.
Our members
Our members are not for profit organisations that support autistic people and their families.
They 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.
Members of the Autism Alliance give their time and experience generously so we can work together to improve policy and practice, and campaign together with a strong national voice.
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Active Prospects
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Ambitious about Autism
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Aspens
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Aurora Nexus
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Autism Anglia
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Autism Bedfordshire
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Autism East Midlands
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Autism Initiatives
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Autism NI
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Autism Unlimited
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Autism West Midlands
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Autistica
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Avenues Group
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Centre for ADHD and Autism Support
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Daisy Chain Project
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Kent Autistic Trust
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North East Autism Society
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Norwood
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PDA Society
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Prior's Court
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Remarkable Autism
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Resources for Autism
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Respect for All
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Scottish Autism
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Sheila Coates Foundation
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Transforming Autism
Want to know how your organisation can benefit from being part of the Autism Alliance UK?
Our supporters
Our supporters include autistic people, their families and allies - and anyone who supports our goal of a society where autistic people can thrive.
Being a supporter means you can get involved in our campaigns, receive the latest news, research and analysis - all related to autism - and are part of our wider campaigning community.
“Working with autistic students in schools has shown me just how much society needs to change. Being a supporter of the Autism Alliance is my way of being part of that change.”
-David
“I have autistic family members and see every day the struggles they face. I wanted to support the Alliance to help make a difference for them.”
-Asha
“The Alliance’s campaigns are just common sense to me - making the world better for all of us, not just autistic people. So I’m always happy to share and promote their ideas.”
-Miriam
Want to sign up as a supporter?
Our partners
Our partners are organisations or individuals who are able to provide financial investment and support for us.
This includes grant-making foundations, as well as our own member organisations who want to see our Alliance grow and develop.
PEARS FOUNDATION
The Pears Foundation is a family foundation driven by a desire to demonstrate the good that philanthropy can achieve in the world. The Pears family has given more than £450m to charity since the Foundation was established.
Find out more about them on their website.
Want to know more about becoming a partner?
Our staff
Our staffing team is small for a purpose - so we can focus on achieving impact without needing to maintain a large organisation.
We will recruit more staff as we grow but will always maintain a lean, agile team so that we can respond quickly and focus on the Alliance’s overall mission.
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Director
Adam is a former Senior Civil Servant and charity leader with experience in policy development, relationship building, business development, and the delivery of Government and charity programmes.
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Membership Lead
Poppy worked in the translation industry for over 10 years, building relationships with freelance translators all over the world. She has a wealth of experience in relationship management and is passionate about working together with others and fostering a sense of community.
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Executive Assistant
A former EA with experience in the education, finance, law and charity sectors, Alice has also trained and worked in special educational needs. Alice also has over 10 years’ experience as a SEND home educator, advocating for her own and many other families to achieve successful outcomes.
Want to find out more about working with us?
What do we believe?
Our values
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We celebrate difference and believe that autistic people have the right to be fully included in society.
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We work hard to ensure that the voices of autistic people and their families are heard and taken account of in everything we do.
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We work in partnership with autistic people, their families, commissioners, service providers and others to increase understanding of autism and deliver the best outcomes for autistic people.
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We strive to ensure that the services we provide meet the needs of the autistic people we serve and support them to achieve the best outcomes.
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We seek to build a rich and diverse evidence base around best practice in autism, and take this into account in everything we do.
Our beliefs
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Autism is an integral part of a person and should not be viewed as something that needs to be cured or eliminated.
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Society should celebrate the strengths of autistic people and support them to participate as valued citizens who have equal rights and opportunities.
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It is essential to work with autistic people and their families to understand the issues that matter to them and to develop effective services and support.
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A flexible and personalised approach is needed to enable society to include autistic people and enable autistic people to develop their skills and achieve positive outcomes.
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More research is needed, and more work is required, to build the evidence base about what works in autism services and support, and to influence autism policy and practice.
Note: In our work we use the term ‘autistic people’, but we acknowledge that other language is used and we respect, and advocate for, everyone’s right to their own identity. We recognise that language will continue to evolve and commit to reviewing regularly the language we use.
What makes us different?
We specialise in autism
We recognise the specific characteristics of autism as a form of neurodivergence, and that there are specific barriers and specific opportunities for change in policy and society. Equally, we are able to recognise the specific opportunities and challenges that are common to not-for-profit organisations that specialise in autism, and which are distinct from organisations that focus more widely on disability or social inclusion.
We convene and build common ground
We are a body with a single, clear agenda - improving the lives of autistic people and their families - and without strong ties to one way of approaching practice. This means we can build bridges between organisations with different views, and we will continue to foster collaboration, alignment of mission, and collective strength.
We strengthen the sector through sharing experience and resources
Autism specialist not-for-profit organisations face common challenges, and the sector is an engine of innovation in responding to these challenges. Reflecting this, the Autism Alliance can create opportunity for organisations to become stronger by enabling the sharing of knowledge and the strengthening of bonds across the sector, particularly between CEOs.
We can bridge from the not-for-profit sector to the autistic community
With our focus on better lives for autistic people and their families, the Autism Alliance can identify common ground between not-for-profit organisations and the autistic community, and over time bring together a stronger core of support for joint advocacy and collaboration.
We can be a central platform for public sector contracts about autism
A lot of time and resource is spent across the sector applying for small grants in an extremely tight market. When opportunities arise, we can use the fundraising and business development experience within the Autism Alliance to lead strong national bids for public funding.
A skilled and experienced team
Key to the Autism Alliance’s impact are the skills and experience of its staff. The small team has worked across different types of organisations in a multitude of contexts, including across the public and private sector, at different levels of government, and across small and large not-for-profit organisations. We have an emphasis on agile working, clear communication and a shared understanding of values and goals.
We span the UK
Across England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales, the challenges in policy and across society for autistic people and their families are similar or the same. We work with our members across the UK to support successful advocacy for change in policy and public affairs.
How we work
The way we work and the values behind our actions are key to the Autism Alliance’s strengths.
Agile and strong
Our strength is in our alliance, not our bureaucracy.
We do not want to become a large organisation that has to commit a significant amount of our resources just to maintain our own infrastructure. The Autism Alliance team works remotely, keeping overheads to a minimum, and makes extensive use of technology to maximise reach and impact.
Speaking the truth
Our strength lies in our understanding of the political and policy landscape and ‘how to get things done’, combined with an ability to develop positive relationships with stakeholders across a wide range of backgrounds. We aim to be open, honest and easy to work with; able to speak the truth but collaborative and committed to the right outcome.