Creatovators

Aim

Creatovators are seeking funding to build on the suite of activities which support autistic adults and their parents and carers.

Who are we?

Creatovators is a Community Interest Company (third sector) set up in 2011 to help people on the autistic spectrum and their families enjoy a better quality of life. We based ourselves in East Dunbartonshire in 2014. Being in a family with an autistic child and an autistic brother, our

founder, June Grindley, established the community to work alongside families in similar situations. We aim to help people on the autistic spectrum and their parents and carers enjoy a better quality of life.

We set up our projects and activities in response to a lack of provision within the local area for families with children on the autistic spectrum, or having just been referred for diagnosis, to have a safe, accepting environment to play. We started with a monthly playscheme in Bearsden and in the past year have opened 2 further monthly playschemes in another 2 locations. Many of our families say they have “nowhere else to go”. 

Our aims are;

• ·         To provide a safe, accepting environment for people to play and engage socially.
• ·         To offer support to the families and carers.
• ·         To work in collaboration with other agencies and professionals involved with our autistic community.
• ·         To provide volunteering opportunities for people on the autistic spectrum and others who may feel socially isolated.
• ·         To share good practice with other organisations.

Impact

The following is feedback from Nikki Wallace, Neurodevelopmental Implementation Lead, Glasgow City Health and Social Care Partnership

“Hi June, many thanks for having me along to your session for parents to discuss the ND pathway.

I felt that this was really useful to ensure that families and young people are aware of how to access services for ND assessment and diagnosis and also to feedback about our changes in

process and the challenges services face. I believe it allows myself to communicate directly with families and also get some feedback of their experiences of using our services and what is important for them and their young people.

The film shown regarding young people talking about assessment and diagnosis was very powerful and as a clinician has made me consider how i share information during assessment to ensure YP's voices are heard and that they actively consent at a developmentally appropriate stage as to whether they want assessment or not. I also feel it strongly made me consider how i write my report and give verbal feedback to ensure it is strength based and neuro affirming rather than being deficit focused.

I will be actively sharing this with my team and wider teams within SCS as well as when i am involved in training sessions to upskill staff. It has given us a valuable insight into lived experience so that we can take this forward as we shape our services going forward.

Again many thanks for reaching out and including me in this session. I am keen that we continue to have strong links to ensure families are able to access the support you offer while waiting for assessment and also post diagnostically. “

Why are we crowdfunding?

We are a very small social enterprise organization and rely on financial support from grant funding, donations and income from delivering small training sessions. We have strong links to the community and need all the financial help we can to implement these supportive programs for Autistic young people.

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How we’ll spend the money raised

The money raised would help fund this 10- week video program for Autistic young people-“Voices Of Autism”. The process of working on this video project helps to develop social and communication skills as well as aid creative development. We are also teaching new skills by having experienced professionals teaching video and audio recording techniques. At the end of the 10 weeks we will not only have helped developed the skills and abilities of the group, we will have created a new 10-15 minute video to add to our existing online “Voices” videos for use by Autistic people as an educational resource.

Funding method

Keep what you raise – this project will receive all pledges made