Title of the project: Resources for Autism
About you – a short description of your organisation and the team
Resources for Autism’s vision as an organisation is a society where individuals on the autistic spectrum are free to live a life as equal and as fulfilling as that of their neurotypical peers. Our practice as an organisation is founded on the fundamental ethos of acceptance for an individual exactly as they are,
Founded in 1997, we help each year over 2,000 beneficiaries and 5,000 family members providing practical support and for those facing physical, social or emotional challenges as well as social exclusion.
Our services include play and youth clubs, holiday pay schemes, adult services, music therapy, behaviour support, reach out home support, training for professionals and schools, parent & sibling groups. The impact of our work is captured through a number of formal and informal ways including independent evaluation, service reviews, surveys, conversations with our community, unsolicited feedback, case studies, talking to people.
All our staff and volunteers are autism trained and our services are designed to be welcoming and accepting of users, whatever their level of need and support.
Research Brief
What are you aiming to do and why?
We aim to improve and enable the access of autistic young people to mainstream education and youth services and understand the specific barriers they are currently facing. We plan to do so by talking to relevant stakeholders, finding out what autistic young people think and what they need to access youth services and increase school attendance.
Our findings would be applied to develop the support Resources For Autism and other youth services offer in these areas and to incorporate these findings in the training we deliver to schools and youth services.
All team members have a personal investment (personal experience) in this project and want to help make a real impact and change.
Who are you targeting the work at?
Autistic young adults, schools, youth services providers
What are you trying to influence?
We are trying to influence youth services and schools to support and improve access to mainstream education for autistic young adults.
Contact details – who should people contact
Iris Korczyn (iris@resourcesforautism.org.uk)