Change an autistic person’s life – and maybe even your own

Could you help someone by being a mentor, asks Jenny Paterson

Between 2011 and March this year, The National Autistic Society Scotland delivered an incredibly popular and much needed project called Moving Forward, which helped autistic young people to prepare for and find work.

We supported more than 450 young people in that time, young people like Kevin, who came to us for help seven years after leaving education. He had achieved an HNC in Administration at college, but had never had a job. He found interviews particularly difficult, and constant rejection had really impacted on his selfesteem. We worked with Kevin to rebuild his confidence, and set him up on a work placement with a leading travel agent. The placement went so well that Kevin was offered a permanent job, and he is still working there today.

A significant autism employment gap exists in our society: just 32 per cent of autistic adults are in work, compared to 80 per cent of nondisabled people and 47 per cent of disabled people taken as a whole. The project had an important role to play in helping to close that gap.

Although our original round of funding came to an end in March, I am very pleased to say that we were able to relaunch immediately thanks to new funding from Cashback for Communities, a Scottish Government initiative that takes funds recovered from the proceeds of crime and invests them in free activities and programmes for young people. Through Cashback for Communities we have received £583,000 to support around 300 16 to 24-year-olds from Scotland’s most deprived communities over the next three years. Believe me when I say that this funding will make a big difference – and we’re already off to a strong start.

Over the past few weeks we’ve been holding workshops to help autistic young people build their social confidence, manage anxiety and think about the pros and cons of disclosing their autism to employers. We’ll continue to support that group over the coming months by looking at interview techniques, setting up work placements and, ultimately, helping them to find jobs.

Our Moving Forward project is funded to work with young people aged between 16 and 24 in West Central Scotland, so if you, or someone you know, could benefit then please do get in touch by phoning 0141 248 1725 or e-mailing moving.forward@ nas.org.uk. We may be able to help them to find work, succeed in post, and reduce the autism employment gap.

This month also brought the good news that another of our projects, Person to Person, will relaunch in July, after we received more than £176,500 from The Big Lottery Fund’s Improving Lives fund.

It’s really encouraging to see the impact of our services recognised by respected funders, who want to work with us to ensure they can continue, build on our existing success and ensure that autistic people

in Scotland can access the support they need.

Person to Person provides mentors to help autistic people in Glasgow overcome challenges and meet goals, such as taking part in social activities, facing problems at work, or dealing with complicated banking and housing issues.

All of the mentors are volunteers, we provide them with training before matching them with people who ask us for support. The mentoring can happen face-to-face, but it can also be by phone or e-mail, which gives the people we support communication options – some may not enjoy, or may not be ready for, meeting in person.

In addition to helping people meet their goals, our volunteer mentors will work with them to identify the cafes, venues and other public spaces that they would use more often if they were “autism-friendly”.

Our charity will then contact these businesses and give them pointers on increasing their accessibility, helping to reduce the social isolation that affects two thirds of people living in Scotland.

Person to Person was originally delivered between 2013 and 2016. All of the people who used the project during that time told us they felt listened to and understood by their mentors, 89 per cent said they felt able to do more things, and 82 per cent felt better about themselves.

One man worked with his mentor to buy new clothes, learn new recipes and visit new places. He says that being mentored helped him to stop procrastinating, and that the advice he received was always helpful and positive.

Thanks to The Big Lottery Fund, we’re able to match around 250 autistic people in Glasgow with mentors over the next five years. To apply to be mentored, or to volunteer your time as a mentor, please e-mail scotland.services@ nas.org.uk Jenny Paterson, director of The National Autistic Society Scotland