World Autism Acceptance Day on 2 April begins a month of teaching people about autism, to accept autistic people for who they are, and how to support them at school, at work, at home and in everyday life.
Lambeth launched its All-Age Autism Strategy in September 2024 to bring a local focus on seven key priorities for improving the lives of autistic people and their families – six national ones and a focus on supporting parents and families added by Lambeth.
Services from Lambeth
Lambeth provides direct services to meet the All-Age Autism Strategy’s key priorities:
- Local SEND initiatives focused on the key priority of building the right support.
- Working to provide tailored support in schools and for parents, such as documentary films to amplify young autistic voices.
- Inclusive and sensory-friendly sports sessions with lower lighting, convenient times and specialist staff on offer in Active Lambeth leisure centres.
Funding for community projects
Alongside the strategy, Lambeth launched its Universal Access Fund, inviting community organisations to bid for funding to support diverse projects promoting inclusion, advocacy, and support for autistic people – ranging from early intervention and education to employment initiatives
Autism Acceptance Month is not only a global opportunity to raise awareness of the needs of people and families, but also to recognise the local charities and organisations funded through the Universal Access Fund who are now working in partnership with :Lambeth to deliver all kinds of support for autistic people.
This support includes sports for children and young adults, cooking classes, social groups, youth clubs, holiday programmes, art, supporting people into employment, day centres, and signposting to health and learning resources for migrant families and people from global majority backgrounds.
Independent living, independent working
- K is a young autistic woman with learning disabilities. She has received support to help her keep out of hospital, improve her skills, and live more independently in the community. Her keyworker and specialists helped K learn everyday words (like egg, grape, and shoes) by matching them to real objects at home, Originally, K recognised 13 of the chosen words. After teaching, she could match and read 46. Shopping for food now allows her to practice reading in a fun, practical way and use her new skills to made life more enjoyable.
- 22-year-old R is in the Project Search programme, helping young people with learning disabilities
Project Search
and autism get work experience. R got a 10-week job at construction company MYCO Ltd, making packs of manuals and keys for new homeowners, updating worker documents, and inspecting apartments. He says, “The team at MYCO is really helpful, they guide me through my tasks and have taught me a lot about construction admin.”
More information
- Lambeth’s Autism Action Forum
- Lambeth Autism Advisory Service
- Resources in Lambeth
- See the video on rethinking Autism: Why Autism is a Difference, not a Deficit
- Lambeth supports autism awareness with events in schools all through April.
- Read Lambeth’s All-Age autism Strategy for the next three years
- Watch the You Tube video about Lambeth’s All Age autism Strategy
Employers
If you are a Lambeth business who can offer employment, apprenticeship or training opportunities for one or more autistic people, please contact InclusiveEmployment@lambeth.gov.uk
