Through the Increasing Understanding of Autism programme. we are aiming to make Scotland a more accessible, inclusive and understanding place for autistic people to learn, work and live. The programme consists of a marketing campaign, managed by the Scottish Government and ten funded charity projects. The programme is directed by autistic people’s lived experiences, governed by the Steering Committee and supported by the Autism Advisory Forum. The funded charities are also partners in this programme, helping to influence the direction of the national marketing campaign and promote it at a local level.
In partnership with the Scottish government, Inspiring Scotland will distribute £400,000 of funding across 10 charities in Scotland.
Phase 2 of the Increasing Understanding of Autism Programme funding supports projects that do either or both of the following:
Phase 1 of the Increasing Understanding of Autism Programme is now complete. A high-level summary and evaluation of Phase 1 of the programme (December 2019 – September 21) can be found below:
This programme is a direct response to the Scottish Government’s 2017 Engagement Exercise, which emphasised the need to raise understanding of autism amongst the non-autistic population.
The consultation highlighted the importance of increasing understanding, awareness and acceptance of autism, reducing autism stereotypes and building a society which is accessible, inclusive and values neurodiversity.
The programme aims to raise understanding across Scottish society about the needs of autistic people and the challenges that they face, as well as highlighting the strengths and diversity that autistic people bring to society.
Find out more about The Different Minds. One Scotland campaign.
Inspiring Scotland have been working with the Scottish Government since 2016 to develop support for autistic people, their families, their carers and others supporting the autistic community.
The current fund is a successor to the Autism and Innovation fund. Download the final progress report below.
Webpage image credit: Perth Autism Support
The Foundations of Leadership Wellbeing course will explore what it means to cultivate wellbeing and it’s connections to emotional intelligence. It will also share tools and practices for leaders to use, so they can develop their own well-being competencies and bring them to life in their organisational culture.
Key information:
Albany is passionate about any work that supports people to live out a fulfilled life. Albany was inspired to study Psychology and Sociology at university after her childhood experiences with dyslexia. Upon graduating from the University of Aberdeen in 2016, she took time to travel the world. Her journeys abroad brought her to many places,....
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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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ATLAS aims to increase autism awareness and acceptance in local communities across Scotland. They deliver training developed from autistic people’s experiences to createcommunities where autistic people and their carers feel valued, respected and safe. This project will develop and deliver autism training across Scotland and create content for their Facebook page that increases the acceptance
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Autism Understanding Scotland, formerly the One Stop Shop Aberdeen, provides support for autistic people, their supporters, professionals and the general public. This project will use a humanistic approach to support autistic people, their families and professionals. They will offer counselling sessions, provide employment coaching and support, and create autism understanding training and resources. https://www.autismunderstanding.scot/
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Central Advocacy Partners (CAP) provides multiple advocacy and inclusion services for autistic people and people with learning disabilities in Forth Valley. This project will support the young people in the ‘Autistic’n’Awesome’ group to deliver workshops for other young autistic people, to increase their skills and confidence. centraladvocacypartners.org.uk @centraladvocacy
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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
Read MoreRead about what funded projects have been doing over the last six months from January-August 2020 with an update on the Increasing Understanding of Autism Programme impact over this time.
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Different minds. One Scotland. is the first national campaign on autism and was created in response to The Scottish Government Consultation on The Scottish Strategy for Autism, which highlighted the stigma and discrimination that autistic people face.
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We are pleased to share our Annual Report 22/23 providing an overview of the work undertaken to deliver on our strategic priorities and mission to improve the lives of people across Scotland. We supported over 700 organisations across 16 funding programmes worth over £50m. As well as new funding opportunities being created, nine of our
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At least 1 in 100 people in Scotland are autistic. Through the Increasing Understanding of Autism programme we are aiming to make Scotland a more accessible, inclusive and understanding place for autistic people to learn, work and live.? Inspiring Scotland is a Scottish Government delivery partner and we are delighted to have been involved in
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At Inspiring Scotland, we are very aware of the pressure that the increased cost-of living is having on people and the funded charities we support. Throughout Autumn 2022 our fund teams gathered and shared information from portfolio partners about: How concerned they are about cost-of-living crisis for people they support, their organisations, their staff and
Read MoreWe work with experts from the voluntary, public, private and academic sectors. Get in touch if you want to help us build a better Scotland.
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