We provide independent advocacy for individuals on the autistic spectrum.
Our key areas of support include:
- Accessing services
- Education or employment issues
- Health & social care issues
- Signposting e.g. benefits, mediation services, organisations that provide coping strategies and support
- Seeking legal advice e.g. finding a solicitor
- Transitions from children services to adult services
- To know your rights and options
- Accompany you to meetings and appointments
- Guardianship reviews and applications
- Adult Support and Protection concerns
- Care/support/medical/legal/welfare assessments and reviews
Additionally, we offer non-instructed advocacy if you have difficulty finding words to express your meaning, or if you require help to understand other people’s meaning.
Our advocacy workers take the following approach:
- Spend time with you to understand your communication style
- Use your preferred methods of communication
- Work with your methods of retaining information
- Advise how to develop your communication skills (or signpost which support service that can help you)
- Advise how to establish your support network
If you feel overwhelmed or bewildered, advocacy can help you communicate (or mediate) with:
- Your friends, family, neighbors, colleagues, or anybody you interact on a personal level
- Your medical doctor or social worker
- Your support provider
- Your service provider e.g. mobile phone company, energy supplier
- Professionals e.g. solicitors (how to understand their jargon)
Key Notes:
- We know Autism is about getting communication right
- We observe autistic traits e.g. sensory sensitivity, stimming, masking, or having no social filter
- We allow space and time to cope with stress, anxiety, burnout, shutdown, and tantrum
- Always remember you can ask us how we can help
Always remember you can ask for information to be in writing or digital recording
- When contacting us, please indicate whether you’re already in crisis, so we can respond in time appropriate manner.
