The Autistic Adult Support Fund aims to help adults with an autism diagnosis, self-identified autistic adults, and their families and carers understand what neurodivergence means for them and improve their wellbeing.
The fund supports organisations across Scotland to deliver a range of projects to meet these aims. Facilitated by Inspiring Scotland and funded by the Scottish Government, the Autistic Adult Support Fund builds on the work of a pilot which ran between 2020 and 2021 to provide post diagnostic support to autistic people.
Autism Initiatives run a National Remote Late Diagnosis programme (LDG) online and in-person. The eight session, neuro-affirming programme covers a range topics. In-person groups in various locations: Edinburgh, Scottish Borders, Tayside, Highland, West Lothian. Visit the website here
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Home-Start Caithness provides support for autistic adults who are in the perinatal period (those experiencing pregnancy until the child is up to the age of three). They provide specific support around pregnancy and birth including direct in-home support to autistic people and their families to survive and thrive the early years of a child’s life.
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Peer support group course for autistic adults seeking employment will be established. Running for eight sessions, the course aims to empower and educate to increase understanding and confidence about what it means to be autistic and navigating employment from job application to sustaining work while in work. Some one to one sessions are available for
Learn MoreAutistic Knowledge Development (AKD) and National Autistic Society (NAS) have created a series of short videos covering a range of important topics for autistic adults, including:
Watch them all here
Autistic people and people with learning disabilities co-produced several resources alongside Scottish Government, Inspiring Scotland and the Scottish Assembly. These resources seek to improve knowledge and understanding of autism and learning disabilities for health practitioners.
You can find more information about autism in Scotland on the Different Minds website.
These short guides give some more information about autism and the Autistic Adult Support Fund in the following languages:
This is the Autistic Adult Support Fund learning report capturing the activity of the 15 funded organisations from April to September 2024. The report details the impact post diagnostic autism support has on the overall understanding of autism and the wellbeing of many autistic adults. It also addresses challenges such as rural access and cultural
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Inspiring Scotland’s Annual Report for 2023-2024 provides an overview of the work we have undertaken to deliver on our strategic priorities and mission to improve the lives of people across Scotland. Last year we managed over £46m of funding as fund owner, delivery partner or fund manager for Scottish Government and private investors for social
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Inspiring Scotland’s Annual Report 22/23 provides an overview of the work undertaken to deliver on strategic priorities and mission to improve the lives of people across Scotland. In the period we supported over 700 organisations across 16 funding programmes worth over £50m. As well as new funding opportunities being created, nine of programmes provided vital
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Sally has 20 years of experience in the voluntary sector building services that uphold the rights of children and young people with additional support needs and their families. She joins Inspiring Scotland after 15 years at Children in Scotland where she managed its national additional support for learning services and used their evidence to campaign....
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Jessica is a performance and impact advisor for the autism and learning disabilities fund at Inspiring Scotland. She is passionate about the impact the voluntary sector can have in improving a persons life and offering the support they deserve. Jessica comes from a legal background, having completed a degree in law and going on to....
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Amber believes that everyone deserves the chance to thrive and is passionate about amplifying marginalised voices to address social inequalities. Amber has a wide range of work experience across the retail and hospitality sector including running her own business. This was a creative collective where she worked as a nail artist and sold the work....
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For any enquiries about the Autistic Adult Support Fund, please contact autismenquiries@inspiringscotland.org.uk
If Elaine Crichton has a specialist topic, it would be diversifying Scotland’s Boards through recruitment and bespoke training of Trustees. It’s an area she is not just enthusiastic about but also well placed to offer guidance and training, having provided 46 organisations in-depth governance and board development support in the last year. She also walks
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Funding ideas to improve children’s health and wellbeing At the end of last year, we began working with a UK philanthropist who, having led a successful career in business, recognised the value in funding research and development. They wanted to fund the good ideas that need some investment to test but could ultimately be scaled
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