Always on
This project successfully funded on 15th December 2025, you can still support them with a donation.
This project successfully funded on 15th December 2025, you can still support them with a donation.
This brand new autistic play venture is ready to go, but I need a place to put it! Gift £20/£50/£100 towards a special startup property.
After working hard to raise awareness of autistic play culture and inclusion, and four years researching for a PhD in authentic autistic play, the time has come to put the theory into practice and open up a bespoke autistic play facility. The soft play structure is ready and waiting, all I need now is a building to put it in!
The idea behind this venture is that a play facility made especially for the autistic community can be a reality - not a tacked-on 'Autism Friendly Session' or 'ASN Night' that other places offer. Instead this is completely autism-orientated and turns the concept of inclusion on its head. No more scheduled allowances, no more tokenistic events, this is not just 'autism friendly', it is autistic-centric and designed with the autistic community at its heart.
It is an act of advocacy and activism, it is finding a way to make inclusion the norm and not an afterthought. The autistic play culture is well established in the literature (ask me if you want to know more!) and yet there is nowhere that makes this the priority for facilities in the community. Every day is autism day here, and that means that the culture of autistic play comes first, all the time. Of course, siblings and non-autistic children can also benefit from playing here, but the ethos is centred round the accommodation of autistic play preferences.
For the concept to work I need to be able to have complete control over the sensory and social environment, so small startup units and shop rentals cannot work for this project. It needs a special startup property (and probably a heck of a lot of rolling my sleeves up to get the job done!) that has no one else in the building and total accessibility for those who need it. This is not an easy task, and is not an issue that most business startups have to deal with! But I want to get this right, and I know you do too.
So gift £20/£50/£100 towards this special venture and watch the dream come alive!
Funding method
Keep what you raise – this project will receive all pledges made