National Autistic Society
Improving understanding of autism
National Autistic Society is the UK’s leading charity for autistic people and their families. Since 1962, they’ve been providing support, guidance and advice, as well as campaigning for improved rights, services and opportunities to help create a society that works for autistic people.
Although 99.5% of the public have heard of autism, only 16% of autistic people and their families think that the public understand autism in a meaningful way. National Autistic Society works to tackle that lack of understanding and make sure more environments like shops and public spaces are suitable for autistic people. Our 2022 grant of over £21,000 has allowed the charity to create an autism-friendly online guide (external link) to change the way businesses understand and support autistic people.
- There are more than 700,000 autistic people in the UK.
- 91% of autistic people say staff training would make the biggest difference to autistic people when visiting shops and services.
- National Autistic Society has been providing support, guidance and advice since 1962.
Encouraging autism-friendly environments
The guide explains how to make services, environments and information accessible for autistic people. It includes information on the basics of autism, the barriers that autistic people face, simple adjustments that businesses can make to support autistic people, as well as details on support available. National Autistic Society is also encouraging businesses to work towards achieving the Autism Friendly Award, formally accrediting them as accessible for autistic people.
We’ve supported National Autistic Society since 2020, helping to fund the first-ever Autism at Work Summit, more info here.
“This will be a vital resource which helps autistic people in daily life. I frequently encountered a lack of autism knowledge growing up at school, on trains, in cinemas, in supermarkets – I hope other people don’t have to experience what I went through.”
More Success Stories
National Autistic Society – Autism at Work Summit
Ambitious about Autism
