Spring is fast approaching and we’re picking up the pace at the North East Autism Society with some big ideas taking shape.
John Phillipson Chief Executive Officer
You may have seen media coverage of our ambitious plans for New Warlands farm in County Durham (see page 12), where we are creating an ethical farm and visitor attraction with lots for families to do.
Crucially, the £5.5 million plan will create up to 60 new jobs and training opportunities for autistic and neurodivergent people – something we as a charity are all about.
We’ve appointed our farmer Dave Wilde, who you can meet on page 13. Already we have almost 30 ewes on the land, chomping down the grass, ready for us to plant wildflowers in the spring.
We will be working hard to bring the farm to life during the next few months, which we’ll be chronicling on our social media.
We will also work with Durham Wildlife Trust to create natural habitats for a whole range of species. Please watch this space for ways in which you can get involved, even if only to visit the site for a nice walk or a picnic.
Those of you who access our services, or have a relative who does, will know that we’re rolling out new training and resources to staff based on the latest thinking about autism and neurodivergence.
The aim of the initiative, which we call STEP, is to further personalise the support we give, whether that’s to children in our schools or adults in our day services and residential homes.
It chimes with our message for Autism Acceptance Week at the start of next month, which is all about seeing past the label to the person. Only then will we move beyond awareness to acceptance.
We’ll be creating films, stories, toolkits, a podcast and a conference to highlight this message, as well as hosting our much-loved annual events such as the Walk for Acceptance.
We’d love you to join us. Find out more and see how you can get involved in this edition of The Loop, and thanks as ever for your support.
Save the Date…
From Autism Acceptance Week to a new cycling challenge, we’ve put together a list of dates you won’t want to miss.
A year of campaigning for Everyday Equality
We launched our #EverydayEquality campaign during Autism Acceptance Week last year. Here are all the things we’ve learned .. and what’s happening next.
Autism Acceptance Week
In 2024, we’re continuing our journey to acceptance. Find out how you can support the campaign.
Employment Futures
Find out about our new programmes that have launched in Gateshead, Newcastle and North of Tyne.
NEAS launches £5.5m plan to create 60 new jobs for autistic people
Our ambitious project to transform 77 acres of County Durham countryside into a working farm and visitor attraction has launched, creating vital jobs for autistic people.
Go Wilde in the Country
Farmer David Wilde found his perfect job in leading the transformation of New Warlands Farm into a working, regenerative farm. Read his story.
Spotlight on… Our Family Hubs
Find out more about our family hubs that support people pre, during and post diagnosis of autism.
Employee of the Quarter
Discover who we’re crowning our Employee of the Quarter.
Highlights of the Quarter
From helping businesses to achieve our ‘Gold Standard for Autism Acceptance’ to our own Autism Activists reaching the finals of a national film award, it’s been an exciting quarter!
We’re on the countdown to Autism Acceptance Week and we’ve put together a list of events you don’t want to miss
2 – 8 April
Schools, businesses and homes across the North-east!
Help make this our best Acceptance Week yet by pledging to join us. All schools and businesses that register will have instant access to our FREE Acceptance toolkit –packed with resources about autism and neurodiversity, lesson plans for teachers and tips for employers to make your workplace more inclusive.
Click here to register.
After conquering the Cleveland Three Peaks last year, we’re stepping it up to take on a 22-mile section of the Cleveland Way. We’ll pass the mysterious crags of the Wainstones, hike across Urra Moor, pause at Captain Cook’s Monument and finish by summiting the legendary Roseberry Topping – a great event if you’re looking for a challenge hike this spring.
Adult Ticket (aged 18+) £20.00
Child Ticket (aged 14-17) £5.00
Click here for more information.
Tuesday 2 April
Everywhere!
Get ready for the gold rush! Landmarks across the North-east are set to be bathed in gold once again to celebrate World Autism Acceptance Day. You can join in by heading out and snapping a picture of your nearest landmark and tag us @NEAutismSociety on socials.
Sunday 8 September
The world’s greatest half marathon is back! People of all abilities are welcome to take on the challenge and experience the famous atmosphere on this iconic City to Sea route.
We are currently running a waiting list for places for this event, for which we hope to receive additional places in spring/summer 2024. You can sign up to join the waiting list via our website.
Click here for more information.
Thursday 16 May
As part of our annual Autism Acceptance campaign, we are hosting an online conference, with autistic speakers. Topics covered at the conference include burnout in autistic adults, mental health, relationships and employment.
Speakers TBC…
Tickets cost just £20pp
We launched our #EverydayEquality campaign during Autism Acceptance Week last year. Here are all the things we’ve learned .. and what’s happening next.
Our #EverydayEquality campaign set out to highlight the lived experiences of autistic and neurodivergent people in five areas of everyday life: education, health, travel, employment and finance.
Our contributors are all autistic or families with autistic loved ones. They wanted organisations to have a better understanding of difference and to ensure that everyone has equal access to their services.
We heard some inspirational stories about good practice, amazing activists and positive autistic self-identity.
But we also learned some shocking statistics that show there is a way to go before autistic people have equal access to the basics in life such as healthcare, education and jobs.
• Children with an EHCP are four times more likely to be excluded from school than the average pupil.
• Autistic students are more likely to drop out of university than any other group.
We featured the amazing Cambois primary school in Blyth, where one-third of the pupils are autistic and whose motto is “a place where everyone is welcome”.
Illustrators Jonathan Raiseborough and Lauren Osborne explained how supportive teachers and lecturers helped them achieve their dream careers, while we caught up with 13-year-old Z whose schooling takes place in the forest and circus.
In higher education, we found that autistic students were more likely to drop out, less likely to achieve a first or 2.1 degree, and less likely to get a graduate-level job, than any other group.
We also met the inspirational Lauren Gilbert, who became disability officer at Newcastle University to help other students fight for their own needs. Lauren is continuing to advocate on their Instagram account @lozzagilbert.
• Almost 17,000 people were on the autism diagnosis waiting lists in the North East, which had more than doubled since the end of 2021.
• Almost 8 in 10 autistic people experience a mental health problem.
NEAS works with the Great North Children’s Hospital, the Queen Elizabeth Hospital and The James Cook University Hospital, and we caught up with them to find out how they’d made it easier for autistic children on the wards.
We featured an amazing case study of Luke, a young man we supported to get a sight-saving operation at the RVI, and met a unique team of neurodivergent counsellors offering mental health support in Sunderland.
But we also heard about the barriers preventing some autistic people from accessing healthcare, including the lack of reasonable adjustments at GP surgeries, diagnostic overshadowing, and the dearth of mental health support for autistic children.
We also spoke to campaigners fighting to get autistic people out of mental health units, including Beckii Davis and her brother Elliot Dodds whose story became the focal point of a national Autism Alliance campaign.
NEAS itself has helped to provide an alternative for autistic people who would otherwise be sectioned, and we spoke to Myles who is enjoying a home of his own after 42 years on mental health wards.
• The Government has pledged to make all public transport fully accessible for all passengers by 2030
• Transport operations lose £42million per month ignoring the needs of disabled people, according to Scope
We’re featuring bus, Metro, air travel and driving in the latest part of our campaign.
Newcastle Airport is one of the most accessible in the UK, after a years-long partnership with NEAS, and we tour the airport with an autistic family to explore the adjustments they’ve made.
One autistic man, Sean Watson, explains how the Metro gave him his freedom back after years of self-confinement in and around his home, while another – Graham Dunn – creates a video diary around his struggles using public buses.
We also catch up with an autistic driving instructor, who trains other instructors from all round the country on autism-friendly practices.
• Digital exclusion affects people with disabilities twice as much as the general population
• More than half of all high-street bank branches have closed in the North East since 2015
We are talking to high-street banks about how to make services more accessible to neurodivergent people.
Pressure is mounting on banks to better protect customers with vulnerabilities thanks to tough new rules introduced by the Financial Conduct Authority.
But the obstacles still in the way include problems with telephone and digital banking, unclear communication, and inconsistent approaches to third-party access.
We are launching a survey to canvas the views and experiences of autistic people and their families around banking, which we will use to further consult with banks. If you’re affected, please look out for a link and respond to the survey.
• Fewer than three in 10 diagnosed autistic people are in paid work, compared with half of all disabled people
• Doubling the employment rate of autistic people could boost the economy by £1.5billion
During Autism Acceptance week this year, we’ll be looking at how employers can improve their hiring practices and in-work support.
We’ll also feature new services being launched by our Employment Futures team to support economically inactive people and reduce social exclusion.
For Autism Acceptance Week 2024 we are taking the lead from our amazing Autism Activists group and their film Let Me Be Me.
We want people to look past the label and see the unique individual for who they are. Only then will we move beyond autism awareness to acceptance.
The Autism Activists group of nine to 17-year-olds created the film Let Me Be Me on the theme of human rights, and it has made a big impact already – see page 18.
We are promoting our Acceptance toolkits again this year for primary and secondary schools, universities and employers (see page 18), and are hosting a series of events to celebrate the week. See pages 4-5 for how to join us.
We will also continue to advocate for Everyday Equality through an exciting new film project that will take shape over the coming year. Watch this space!
Every year we mark World Autism Awareness Day with a week-long campaign, and for the last five years we’ve switched our focus from awareness to acceptance.
In 2024, we’re continuing our journey to acceptance.
Register to join us for Autism Acceptance Month and help make it our biggest and best year to date! By registering, you’ll have instant access to our toolkits.
Schools that sign up will get our exclusive, free-to-download Teachers’ Toolkit for primary or secondary schools. It contains useful information about autism and neurodiversity, guidance on reasonable adjustments, what parents want schools to know, and a range of classroom sessions and activities.
We have also put together an Employers’ Toolkit for businesses, covering everything from what is autism to the Equality Act as well as how to make your organisation become more inclusive.
Download your toolkit and fundraising pack today
We also have a range of other exciting ways you can support us throughout World Autism Acceptance Week and help us raise vital funds to support our young people, children and adults.
We’re delighted to announce that Walk for Acceptance is returning in 2024! We’ll be back at Herrington Country Park on Friday 5th April. The 1-mile route is suitable for all ages and abilities, receive a fundraising pack, certificate and join in the fun.
Friday 5 April from 10am
How Far?
1-mile route (pushchair and wheelchair friendly)
Where?
Herrington Country Park, New Herrington, Houghton-Le-Spring, DH4 7EL
Price?
Adult £5 and children go free
Click here to register
If our Walk for Acceptance is not for you, you can fundraise your own way at home, at school, at work or with family and friends in your community.
Not sure where to start and need a bit of inspiration to set you on your way? Register below to receive our fundraising pack or contact our fundraising team at fundraising@ne-as.org.uk
Download your fundraising pack today
Help spread the message of acceptance with our exclusive range of merchandise that’s available to purchase from our online shop
Help us spread the word by sharing, connecting, and engaging with supporters to help increase understanding of neurodiversity and autism acceptance with our social media resources.
Our Autism Activists’ group provides an opportunity for young autistic people to connect, share experiences and to learn more about themselves and each other. As well as promoting positive identity the group offers a platform to ensure autistic voice is represented across society.
Our young activists, planned, wrote, and produced their film Let Me Be Me with the help of professional animator Graeme Patterson. The film’s message is all about acceptance and has reached the finals of the Smiley Charity Film Awards, the winners will be announced at the awards ceremony in London’s Leicester Square on Wednesday 20 March.
Voting for the People’s Choice award ends at midnight on 12 March, so be sure to get your votes in before then.
North of of Tyne Mayor Jamie Driscoll has backed the launch of a new project aimed at supporting economically inactive people to look for work, reduce their social exclusion or improve life and vocational skills.
The new £500,000 project called ProgressNE is being delivered by the North East Autism Society (NEAS) in partnership with Azure Charitable Enterprises, and is funded by the Government’s UK Shared Prosperity Fund with the North of Tyne Combined Authority as the lead authority.
It is aimed at over-18s in Newcastle, North Tyneside and Northumberland who are neurodivergent, have learning difficulties or disabilities, or suffer from poor mental health – though they do not need a formal diagnosis.
Mr Driscoll said at the project’s launch:
“The work you do is so important. You’re changing people’s lives. You’re saving people’s lives.
“In the North East we have 105,000 people who are unemployed or inactive but want a job. To bring that down we need to create more good jobs, and to put the right training and support in place so the people of the North East can get them.
If you’ve been out of work for a long time, or you’ve never worked, where do you start? You start here.
The mayor praised the success of the previous project run by NEAS and Azure called DiversityNE, which supported 68 unemployed or economically inactive people to move into work and 59 to go into education or training.
Mayor Driscoll said he’d been inspired by meeting, and hearing the story of, an autistic participant called Harris who had secured a job at Tyne Tunnels operator TT2 through DiversityNE. Harris had developed the confidence to thrive in their new role and the project also helped the employer make small adjustments to better support Harris to succeed.
“We know there are lots of people like Harris out there, who can succeed when they get the right support,” he said.
“That’s why I really believe in funding projects like this. They work on every level. It’s the right thing to do - there’s no reason we have to leave people behind.”
ProgressNE will target “economically inactive” people –individuals who are not in employment and not an active job-seeker. Participants will receive up to a year of oneto-one support tailored to their individual challenges, strengths and aspirations.
The support on offer can includes travel training, a benefits check to ensure someone is receiving their full entitlement,
help to access community events and groups, social skills development, support to access other services such as GP appointments, and help with CVs, job applications, interview skills, and work placements.
Derek Groves, Employment Services Manager at NEAS, said:
“It’s not just about whether someone gets a job. It can be about how they move from being socially excluded, quite isolated and within their own home, to engaging with social groups in their local community.
“It can be about how they have moved from not addressing barriers in mental and physical health to getting an appointment with a medical professional or regularly attending support with mental health.”
ProgressNE runs until March 2025 and is already taking on participants. For more information, or to sign up, email info@progressne.org.uk or visit the programme’s contact page at www.ne-as.org.uk/progressne
The Employment Futures team are also launching a further two programmes in April called Empower Works NE in North Tyneside and Neurodiversity Employment Service in South Tyneside. If you would like to register your interest in the programmes please contact the team at employment@ne-as.org.uk
The North East Autism Society has launched an ambitious £5.5million project to transform 77 acres of County Durham countryside into a working farm and visitor attraction, creating vital jobs for autistic people.
The charity hopes to provide 60 job and training opportunities a year at our New Warlands Farm near Burnhope by creating shops, a café, a cider-making plant and an ethical farm.
The farm will be turned into wildlife haven featuring accessible walks for visitors, wetlands, wildflower meadows, forests and a rare breed farm park.
John Phillipson, our CEO, says:
“New Warlands Farm will be a fantastic place for families to visit, where they know they will be accepted and supported.
“But the main thing that makes it special is the fact that we can train, employ and support 60 autistic and neurodivergent people a year through the farm, cidery, shops and café. That’s what we as a charity are all about.”
Fewer than three in 10 autistic people are in paid work in the UK – the lowest employment rate of all disabled groups.
We bought New Warlands Farm in 2010 and built a vocational training centre for autistic adults there as well as lodges for short respite breaks. It already produces cider
on a small-scale there, with its branding designed by world-famous artist and charity patron Mackenzie Thorpe.
The new development got planning permission last year and we have just appointed farmer Dave Wilde (see next page) as project and farm manager to start transforming the land.
Dave, who has his own organic and regenerative smallholding in Ponteland, is already lining up five trainee positions for autistic adults to start in the next couple of months.
He has starting rebuilding fences and hedgerows and has started bringing in rare native breeds of cattle, goats, and pigs to start breeding them. He has also brought in 28 pregnant ewes to graze a field which will then be replanted as a wildflower hay meadow.
“Like wildflower hay meadows, rare breeds weren’t considered productive enough for the large-scale farming of recent decades. So we’re going back to how farming used to be,” Dave said.
“As well as creating employment for autistic adults, the vision is high-welfare, ethical farming with nature in mind.”
Follow us on social media to get updates about the farm and job/training opportunities.
Trusty border collie, Joe, zigzagging at his heels, Dave strides towards his flock of grazing sheep, and surveys the scene from the top of the hill: “I’ve found my perfect job,” he says with a broad smile.
Welcome to the field of dreams – New Warlands Farm, near Burnhope, in County Durham, where the most extraordinary, inspirational vision is becoming reality.
Dave’s appointment as New Warlands farm manager is the latest ingredient in our bold plan to turn the sprawling site into a visitor centre, while providing autistic people with a range of job opportunities.
As well as a home for rare breeds – Dave’s biggest passion –it will be a wildlife haven, with a café, retail outlets, a petting farm, accessible walks for visitors, wetlands, wildflower meadows, and forests.
The new development was given planning permission last year but there was still a vital part of the jigsaw missing: someone with the passion, skill, empathy, and experience to make it happen.
And the charity found the perfect fit when chief executive, John Phillipson, and fundraising manager, Kevin Meikle, visited Dave’s farm near Ponteland, in Northumberland, last September.
Dave was born and raised in Kenton, Newcastle, and grew up to form his own landscape gardening business. However, he’d inherited a love of animals from his uncle, who was a zookeeper in Glasgow, and he had ambitions to have his own farm one day.
When a plot of land came up for sale near Ponteland eight years ago, he discussed it with his wife (yes, she really is called Kim Wilde), and she said: “Let’s go for it!”
They remortgaged their house, bought six Shetland sheep and four pigs, relocated the beehives and chickens they already kept in the garden of their former council house, and Wilde Farm was born.
Farmer David Wilde found his perfect job in leading the transformation of our New Warlands site into a visitor attraction and working farm. Read his story.
“We couldn’t have found anyone more suited for the role if we scoured the country,” says John Phillipson.
As well as bringing in rare, native breeds of farm animals for breeding, Dave will also be working alongside the Durham Wildlife Trust to create sustainable, natural habitats for wildlife, including great crested newts, frogs, toads, water voles, insects, barn owls, tawny owls, little owls, woodpeckers, curlews, and deer.
It will be a regenerative site focused on caring for the environment, with carbon storage, and a high welfare approach to livestock.
Already, Dave is lining up five trainee positions for autistic adults to start work in the next couple of months, and that’s just the beginning.
“I get excited coming here every day because I can see the potential to create something really special. I love everything about it, and I can’t wait for it to take shape,” he says.
If all goes according to plan, the first visitors will be welcomed at New Warlands Farm in 2026.
Q1: What are the Family Hubs?
The hubs are meetings designed to support families pre, during, and post diagnosis of autism. We offer oneto-one support at the hubs, as well as group workshop sessions.
Q2: What do sessions at the hubs provide?
The group workshop sessions have been designed as an introduction to support autistic children and families. The one-to-one support really is very bespoke and, on an individual basis, the levels of support we can offer differs greatly depending on what it is the family needs.
It may be information and advice, it may be signposting and making referrals to other services. It may be making connections, for example, attending an external meeting or group with a family that they may be a bit nervous to attend.
Q3: Who can access the hubs?
Parents, carers, family members - anybody within the family that wants to learn more and understand the child better.
I think there’s the misconception that the hubs are just for parents of pre-school children, but they’re not. They’re for parents of young people up to age 18 as well.
Q4: Hubs are held weekly in Newcastle, North Tyneside, and County Durham. Where can people find their nearest session?
In Newcastle we’ve got four hubs in four different parts of the city: Byker, Fawdon, Westerhope, and the City Centre. In North Tyneside, we’ve got them in Wallsend, North Shields, and Shiremoor.
In Durham we’ve got them in Horden and Willington. It works out that we’re always at the same hub at the same week of the month, so you know where we are and when.
Q5: Do families need a referral?
There’s no referral process, which I think is a positive for a lot of families. I often feel families have to jump through lots of hoops, sign forms, and meet certain criteria to access that support, but with us we’ve removed all those barriers. All they need to do is send an email or give us a ring.
Or if there’s a professional involved with the family, such as a health visitor or schoolteacher, they can ring us and make a referral on the family’s behalf. Practitioners can also attend an appointment with families to help alleviate any anxieties they may have around attending.
Q6: Why are the hubs such an important place for families?
At the very early stages for a lot of our parents, they don’t know where to turn. They don’t know how to navigate things or what to expect, so I think it’s a massive reassurance for some families to know that they have somewhere to go, and somewhere they can get practical ideas, tips, and strategies that they can go and use in everyday life.
Providing accurate information and guidance at the right time also ensures the best outcomes for a child.
The feedback we get from parents is how nice, relaxing, and informal it is. Parents can come, grab a cuppa and some biscuits and we’ll just have a nice friendly chat.
For more info on Family Development, including where and when the hubs are in your area, visit www.ne-as.org.uk/family-development
Every quarter, NEAS staff are asked to nominate a colleague who has gone above and beyond in the delivery of their duties to benefit the Society and the individuals that we support..
This quarter, the winner is Dawn Malyan, transport/ administration officer in central services, who has worked in the background to ensure NEAS’ fleet of around 80 vehicles has everything they need to run smoothly.
Dawn has been with NEAS for 12 years, and is retiring next month.
Head of HR Jessica Greer nominated Dawn for the award, and said:
“We just thought it would be a really nice thing to acknowledge all of Dawn’s hard work and dedication to the Society, over the length of the service she’s worked for us for.”
“If I could sum Dawn up it would be that Dawn is someone who was in the background, but would pull everything together.”
Dawn joined the North East Autism Society as a receptionist before moving onto her role as transport/administration officer, and took the lead with a range of administrative tasks, including ensuring vehicles had blue badges, Tyne Tunnel permits, and monitoring safety data from the fleet of vehicles.
“She was just an all-rounder; she would get involved with any admin task that was needed,” Jessica said.
“Despite her health she would always want to know how we were doing, how our days were going, just a really positive lady.”
Dawn said:
“I feel extremely grateful and appreciated to be named employee of the quarter, and when Jess told me about this I was lost for words.”
Jess added:
“Probably one of the bravest, strongest ladies I’ve had the pleasure of knowing, and I think I might be losing a work colleague, but I’ve gained an incredible friend, she’s amazing, she really is.”
Congratulations and best wishes to Dawn, who wins £50 in vouchers. Our next Employee of the Quarter will be announced in the summer edition of The Loop.
This edition of The Loop has been packed with some our recent achievements.
Gavin Bestford, 73, who stepped down last year, was recognised by the County Durham Together Awards which celebrate unsung heroes in the region.
Gavin first came into contact with NEAS when his autistic son Alex was referred to the charity’s school. He became a trustee in 2002 and took over as chair in 2005.
Under his stewardship, the Society grew from a handful of services and 250 staff to more than 60 sites and 1,200 staff providing lifeline services across the North East. Congratulations Gavin!
The paediatric department at Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Gateshead, has achieved the ‘Gold Standard for Autism Acceptance’ from NEAS.
It is the first hospital children’s department in the region to be awarded the honour, following a series of innovations to ease the anxiety of young autistic or neurodivergent patients.
The department started working with NEAS in March, and the charity’s Family Development Manager, Kerrie Highcock, said the award was “richly deserved”.
Our Autism Activists have reached the finals of a national charity film award, and your vote could help them be winners.
The group planned, wrote, and produced their film Let Me Be Me last year with the help of professional animator Graeme Patterson.
They are ‘over the moon’ that their film has reached the finals of the Smiley Charity Film Awards. A panel of judges will score the films to decide a winner, but the public can also vote for the film to win a People’s Choice award.
Click here to vote
We have cause for celebration after a stunning artwork by our patron, world-famous artist Mackenzie Thorpe, sold at auction for £11,000 during a North-East mayor’s fundraising ball.
The piece, called All Together, was bought by prominent Teesside businessman Bill Scott, with the proceeds being split between the North East Autism Society and Eastern Ravens Trust.
They are the chosen charities of Stockton-on-Tees Mayor, Councillor Jim Beall, who staged the ball at Wynyard Hall.
Simon, who lives at one of our adult residential care homes in Sunderland, made a special trip to Leeds to give his dad a birthday surprise.
Staff from the home drove Simon down to Leeds for the big day, while they all listened to Simon’s favourite music by Bob Marley for their journey.
Simon’s dad had expected to meet his daughter at a local Toby Carvery for a lunch celebrating his 60th birthday, but was actually greeted by the entire family.
Once there, Simon enjoyed a carvery dinner and a big slice of cake, as well as a lot of quality time with his family.
In 2024, we’re continuing Our Journey to Acceptance. Help us to make Autism Acceptance Week 2024 (2 -8 April) bigger and better than anything we’ve done before.
www.ne-as.org.uk/listing/category/autism-acceptance2024