Aurum Autism Support

Aurum provides specialist support for autistic women and girls, and their families, in Worcestershire and Shropshire. We offer a supportive space where autistic females can be their authentic selves.

Aurum is led by autistic women and specialist autism professionals, and was founded based on the belief that autistic females can improve their lives by supporting each other. Our Worcestershire groups are based in Malvern, and we offer a variety of support for our members. For women aged 18 and over we run a monthly in-person social group, a craft group and an online discussion group. For girls aged 10 to 18 we run a fortnightly social and activity group. We also provide additional activities for all members, such as day trips, yoga sessions and group walks. Alongside this we run a monthly support group for parents of autistic women and girls. The demand for our services has grown significantly since we began. All money raised will help us to continue providing enhanced support for autistic women and girls, and their families, who have been overlooked with regards to specialist provision.

Autistic females are typically diagnosed later than males and do not receive appropriate support, as diagnosis and support services are based on male needs. Therefore, autistic women often go without support for long periods, resulting in isolation, increased anxiety and failure to achieve their personal, academic, and social potential. The overall aim of the project is to reduce social isolation for autistic women and girls. However, there are many additional, positive outcomes, including: enhanced confidence, self-esteem and personal well-being, improved coping skills, and the opportunity to develop friendships with other autistic females. Ultimately, we hope that this will result in individuals becoming more engaged in the broader community. The majority of the individuals we support are not in receipt of social care support, or support from NHS mental health services, and so they rely heavily on voluntary organisations such as ourselves to provide autism specific support.