What is the function of the NAS?

Government service provider. Nearly 90% of the income for the NAS comes from the government. Almost all of it is ringfenced for individual people and used to pay for NAS run special schools for children who qualify for them or residential care services.

The government funded charity thing is a bit of smoke and mirrors.

They appear on the account sheets as charity support or some such, in order to deflect from the fact these charities are in effect quangos.  The government does not have any say in how they are run, but they are meant to have charitable aims.

The.  trustees cannot benefit financially, but there can be a number of executives who get very rich for their efforts.  And this in effect is where fundraising efforts go - into the pockets of the executives.  Volunteers are usually a great part of the workforce, they get expenses but not payment, and normal employees are often on low wages.

I am stating this as a general point, and it may not apply to any particular government funded charity that you think of....

The government funded charity thing is a bit of smoke and mirrors.

They appear on the account sheets as charity support or some such, in order to deflect from the fact these charities are in effect quangos.  The government does not have any say in how they are run, but they are meant to have charitable aims.

The.  trustees cannot benefit financially, but there can be a number of executives who get very rich for their efforts.  And this in effect is where fundraising efforts go - into the pockets of the executives.  Volunteers are usually a great part of the workforce, they get expenses but not payment, and normal employees are often on low wages.

I am stating this as a general point, and it may not apply to any particular government funded charity that you think of....

This has been set up by an autistic OT: www.autisticempire.com/

Yeah their staff are delivering a restricted brief as best they can, I think a key question is why NAS is so minimally neurodiverse with a profoundly NT culture. Agree that what we need to do is form our own mutual support and advocacy groups - which some of us are already starting to do. I'm starting a women's group in London, I know of mixed groups in London and Essex and I think they're springing up all over. If we can get affinity groups going, we can build more ambitious projects and networks. Baby steps! Happy to talk with anyone who wants to set up a local group or special interest autistic group.

Arran said:

and wasting large amounts of money of glitzy events that achieve very little in practice.

These costly, glitzy events achieve a great deal.  By attracting attention of very wealthy businesses and individuals, they can encourage awareness and large donations from these wealthy individuals and businesses, boosting the coffers.  And then, by reading previous posts in this topic, judge for yourself where this extra money may end up...!

What we really need to do is:

1. Expose the NAS for what they are and what they are not.

2. Create competitor organisations, especially for people with AS and high functioning ASD.

To be fair on the NAS, I believe that they generally do a good job when it comes to their special schools and residential care services, despite their executives being fat cats on grossly inflated salaries and wasting large amounts of money of glitzy events that achieve very little in practice.

We are all in it together. I get it now. We are all in deep animal excrement together, except some people’s cow pats are made of gold. I hope they choke on their champagne at their events. I worked for a big charity ages ago and know it’s not the frontline workers who are in any way at fault. They are exploited and restricted. How many people with disabilities and of age does it take to overload the prisons? All those over 75 will still get a free tv licence. The sour note to going to prison is that the legal system makes a fortune out of that too. How about the latest plan to eventually put people on another planet? I guess we would get shipped off first, at huge expense, having naively created all the technology necessary. Mind you, we could fight back since lateral thinking is in our domain and we have the technological genii. Let’s lie low and get them at dawn .......

This is the way of the world I'm afraid.  And while not wanting to cast nasturtiums  about all charities behaving in this way, it is basically the way many government funded charities work.

These things are ticking time bombs, in much the same way that MPs expenses were just accepted as all right but patently were not.

It will take a change of government and of policy for this all to be different.  Where government expenditure can be disguised as charity support, it looks better to the voter even though the costs of providing the service are the same.  And if any savings are made, this is at the expense of people who actually work for the charity who are often working to the best of their abillity and often above and beyond their duty for mimimum wage or very little more.  And those who ask for their rights in employement are frequently subject to non-disclosure agreements.

We live in a very corrupt society but unfortunately it is just accepted, and the reality of situations is hidden from view.  Once again, I would state that this is a generality and may not apply to any particular specific charity.

Ah. I see. I’ve been taken for a ride again. There is no charity really. It’s a business that pays low wages, and uses volunteers who offer their time believing its a charity. The executives and experts run off with any donations/profits, so really it’s a charity raising money to finance rich people not on the spectrum to buy excessive items/properties whilst adults on the spectrum are actually homeless. It pays to keep the children needy so enough of them will bring in a revenue from a government that quite frankly doesn’t give a monkeys rear cheeks. Hey ho. Just another lesson learned about the NASty system we live in.

At least now I’ve asked I have figured it’s not personal. They don’t have anything against me personally. I just don’t even exist to them. None of us do really. So if I already don’t exist it’s a waste of effort buying the nylon rope. They shut my local hardware store anyway. 

NAS are a bunch of wuzzocks really. They are not really helping anyone. Not even the kids, I fear. And the bigger the remuneration, the bigger the wuzzock. 

Hey ho! That’s life! 

Yes, and also exemption from freedom of information requests - which apply to all public bodies.

Is not charity status often used to avoid paying tax to same government?