JohnAn award-winning regional advocacy charity is celebrating the 10th anniversary of its project that works with autistic adults.
Roundhay Road-based Advonet Group’s ‘Autism AIM service’ is marking the milestone with a big event taking place early next month.
Set up in late 2014, Autism AIM is co-led by and run for autistic adults living locally and has worked with thousands of autistic adults in Leeds and beyond. Over the past decade, it has provided free services including advocacy, peer support, information and signposting.
The service has also influenced positive changes in the way local services work with autistic adults. This has been through speaking to decision makers at forums, giving autism awareness training to professionals and passing on feedback from clients to the relevant people.
“Whilst there is a lot more needing to be done, Autism AIM’s work in putting forward the needs of autistic people has seen noticeable improvements in areas like healthcare”, said The Advonet Group’s Chief Executive Angela Ellis.
At the event, there will be talks from people who have been involved with AIM and its’ journey. There will also be creative activities led by autistic members of AIM’s staff team, as well as a quiet space for anyone who needs it.
As well as receiving awards, Autism AIM have also created a range of free, downloadable resources that individuals anywhere in the country can use. The service has provided one-to-one support for newly diagnosed autistic adults to help understand their condition more, as well as improve access to health and mental health services.
Autism AIM Senior Manager Owen Walker spoke about their impact. “To get to 10 years is a massive achievement. In that time, we’ve had a wide impact on how services work with autistic people, as well as empowering many autistic adults to speak up for themselves and their rights.”
The celebration event is on Wednesday, 2 April at the HEART Centre in Headingley from 4pm-7pm. It is free to attend and open to anyone with a connection to Autism AIM. To book, click here.
Autism AIM is part of The Advonet Group, a Leeds-based independent advocacy charity – Registered Charity No. 1126132 and Company Limited by Guarantee No. 04229975.
For further information about Autism AIM, please go to https://leedsautismaim.org.uk.
