Autism and disability news
Autistic and OK launch
Today sees the national launch of Autistic and OK, our groundbreaking new programme that will empower autistic young people to understand themselves, take control of their mental wellbeing and feel OK at secondary school.
Youth-led and free to download
The Autistic and OK programme has been developed with input from autistic young people from the youth network and specialists in mental health and wellbeing. Autistic youth advisors helped design the programme by identifying the topics that impact them the most – anxiety, depression, OCD and bullying.
The programme is run through our online toolkit which is completely free for secondary schools to download from our website.
Autism discrimination fears for job seeker
Ella Sullivan is autistic and worries about disclosing her diagnosis during job applications over fears she will face discrimination.
She has been working with charity Graft in Reading to help her overcome barriers and to get into employment.
Ambitious about Autism response to the Buckland Review on autism employment
The government has published its Autism Employment Review, led by Sir Robert Buckland KC MP. The Review looked at the barriers preventing autistic people from entering the workforce and recommends a series of measures to tackle them.
Jolanta Lasota, Chief Executive of Ambitious about Autism, said: “We know most autistic young people want to work but face stigma, rejection and a lack of opportunity in the current job market. This important review has shone a light on the woeful situation autistic people face and we’re pleased to see its focus on solutions to tackle these problems. We are pleased to see our Employ Autism programme – which offers autistic people paid internship opportunities in autism supportive environments – highlighted in the review. Our programme gives autistic young people a better chance of securing work, and also increases the awareness, attitudes and confidence of employers to benefit from a neurodivergent workforce.”
Autistic people held back by job interview questions
Ambiguous interview questions and application forms are keeping autistic people out of work, a report has found.
While 53.6% of all disabled people are in work, only 30% of autistic people are, the latest official figures show.
*We post news stories about autism on the live feed once a week on a Thursday. If you see any news stories related to autism or Ambitious about Autism, please email them to us at [email protected].