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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? 

  • 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 

  • 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.

  • I feel like this should be aimed at the NT community, because my first step on getting a load of money would be setting my own autistic family up to be more financially secure before worrying about others, but if I had great wads of spare money after that point then I'd invest it in a fund for autists in crisis to access autistic specific trauma therapists.

  • Hello. Great discussion!

    If I could invest money in to our autistic community, I would create in person autistic discovery spaces. In these spaces, newly identified autistic people could be paired with autistic mentors to help them understand their own autistic experience.

    In these spaces, we could also hold weekly stim sharing and dedicated interests discussion days!

    If this idea materialised, it would be so cool!

  • A fund that gave out grants for private autism assessments is another thing i'd like to see. Not sure how feasible it would be but the sooner people get diagnosed the better and it would take some of the strain off the NHS

  • Build a massive gated community were we can all live as we wish. Maybe start a cult.

  • Support groups and diagnosis provision, if I had resources enough for the autistic community, I would secure the bottom line..

  • I would donate a good amount to the National Autistic Society for their hard work in support and raising awareness.

    I do this already, donations each month, not as much as I would like. . . But every little helps.

    I would love to be in the position one day to pay back for all the help and support they give me, you, and everyone else.

    I would like to give to a Lupus charity also.