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If you came into a lot of money, how would you invest it to help the autistic community?

Jamie

Someone mentioned on here not long ago for there to be an emergency chat thingy for those of us who aren't comfortable speaking on the phone when in need. That seems like a good idea to me as calling someone when i needed help would be the last thing i'd do. 

I'd also look into starting a business that utilizes the skills and abilities of autistic people, a bit like Unicus which is a software company that only employs autistic people:

https://www.unicus.com/om-oss/

Another thing would be to help more on the education side with perhaps paid speakers to share their personal stories of living with autism 

What would you do? 

Parents

  • Many more specialist autistic led schools for autistic children of all abilities. Sufficient resources for all autistic children in mainstream education to receive the support and adjustments they need. Education for all children on what neurodiversity is.

    I would also set up a specific and separate service to help autistic adults live independent lives, in particular those without a learning disability who currently cannot access support from Social Services. This service would be autistic led and aim to enable autistic people to thrive in suitably adapted environments, not merely to cope in unsuitable environments.

    The service would include practical and individual person centred support and advice with real life day to day issues. Support with legal discrimination issues to ensure that organisations we deal with are fully aware of how to avoid discrimination. Support with employment issues, ensuring that we receive all the reasonable adjustments necessary to do our job to the best of our ability. Support with accessing health care. Support with making phone calls, shopping, getting work done, housing issues. Basically whatever each person needs help with or to access.

    Such a service would help to avoid problems becoming insurmountable and having a negative effect on mental health. However autistic people clearly do suffer a disproportionate amount of mental health issues. Particularly those diagnosed later may have already suffered a lot of unnecessary and harmful trauma. Therapists would be readily available and fully trained to provide holistic person centred therapy, nothing like the existing standardised CBT therapies so often used without success.

    Hopefully with the above support, crisis services would no longer be needed. However they will be available and in whatever form of communication each person prefers.

    There will be no expectation that communication must be verbal for access to any of these services.

  • in reply to Autonomistic

    Some great ideas there Auto

    Autonomistic said:
    Support with employment issues

    I badly needed this, especially with job interviews. Most of mine have been a complete mare because i struggle with my speech 

Reply Children
  • in reply to Jamie

    I hope that you are able to get some adjustments to help at your next interview. I have seen discussions on here where people successfully managed to get the interview questions provided to them in advance. If you have those you could prepare a typed document with your answers to take in with you, meaning you wouldn't need to rely as much on speech.

    I know it is hard trying to advocate for yourself. My attempts in other settings haven't been that successful. It replies on communication with non autistics. something which we struggle with. They might not understand anything about autism, not believe us or think that we are trying to gain an unfair advantage. It doesn't help that autism is such a diverse spectrum. People do not understand why some autists might struggle with things that other autists don't.

    That's why my envisaged support service would do all of that advocacy for us and make sure the adjustments we need are in place before the interview. I believe there are some charities which do already help autistic people in gaining employment. Autism Plus offers free support in some areas.

    https://autismplus.co.uk/employment-support/individual-support