Making Scotland a kinder and more accepting place for children and young people with autism
We believe that every child and young person with autism deserves a chance to thrive.
Our beautiful Danny sadly took his own life aged only 18 in October 2022. Danny was diagnosed with autism when he was 13. Lack of awareness surrounding autism, meant that Danny was not diagnosed at an earlier age, so his nursery and schools were unable to give him the special care he needed. We believe this negatively impacted his mental health over time. Later, even though the school Danny attended knew about his diagnosis, he was not given the appropriate help he needed during the crucial young stages of his school life. It got to a stage where he slowly became reclusive and stopped interacting with family and friends. It was heartbreaking watching him deteriorate and left us feeling helpless. This proves that there needs to be an overhaul in the training provided to those with a duty of care to young people with autism.
We offer a variety of services to meet the needs of the autism community in Scotland. These include educational resources, support groups, advocacy services, and more. Our team is committed to improving the lives of those affected by autism.
Our Aims
We fund autism awareness training to adults working with children and young people from nursery to secondary school (from ages 3-18) to identify the signs of autism. We also fund autism awareness courses for parents with autistic children.
We aim to create safe spaces to help young people with autism interact comfortably amongst each other. We also promote tolerance and education through school visits and presentations.
We actively petition for the law to be changed so that the Scottish Government is required to ensure that autism awareness training provided to all adults working with children and young people in schools is made mandatory. We also advocate for an increase in funding by the Scottish Government for resources for young people's mental health.