Supporting people with Asperger syndrome

Aim

Our project aims to support young people with Asperger syndrome reducing poverty and improving mental wellbeing and social inclusion.

About Us

Asperger East Anglia is a registered charity that was set up by families affected by Asperger syndrome (AS) in 1996. We offer personal, friendly support and assistance for everyone with, or suspected of having, AS. Our aim is to be a resource and provide a range of support services for children, young people, and adults with AS and their families, whilst also increasing awareness and understanding of Asperger syndrome across the wider community.

Our activities:

• Adult Support, including Social Groups
• Personal Support programmes
• Workshops to improve skills development and employment opportunities
• Children and Young People Groups
• Parenting Support Groups
• Family Carer Groups
• Educational Aid advice and information for children and young people.

We have included a video which describes the charity's impact for beneficiaries. 

Our Team:

We are a dedicated team – some of us have first hand ‘lived’ experience of autism. Some of us have children with Asperger’s syndrome both young children and those who have reached adulthood and who continue to live in the family home.  As a family carer, we understand the challenges people with autism experience, and we have a good insight into the often complex and high levels of behavioural needs they present with. 

We have been fortunate to employ an ex-service user within our Employment and Training Workshop and their insight of autism informs all areas of our delivery and working practice. 

Our Board of Trustees:

Trustees bring their own expertise to the charity and include a Forensic Psychiatrist working within the NHS secure mental health field, a Professor of Clinical Psychology and Disability who also works as an Honorary Consultant Clinical and Forensic Psychologist, and a Special Educational Needs Teacher. Other Trustees have worked extensively in the charity and business sectors, one serves as an Anglican priest;  some Trustees are family carers of children with Asperger syndrome, and one Trustee has a diagnosis of autism.

Our Patrons:

We are fortunate to have the support of three Patrons who champion our work, and they are:

Sir Norman Lamb who was the Liberal Democrat Member of Parliament for North Norfolk from 2001 to 2019. He served as Minister of State for Care and Support in the Department of Health. In December 2019 Norman Lamb was appointed chair of South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust; Sir Lamb actively champions the work of Norfolk’s voluntary sector.

Mr. William Armstrong OBE became Norfolk Coroner after practicing as a solicitor for over 30 years in Norwich, specialising in mental health and child-care issues. During his tenure he set up a support service and the first chaplaincy service in the county. He was chairman of the health watchdog 'Healthwatch Norfolk' and has held the role of Sheriff of Norwich. He is a Lay Cannon of Norwich Cathedral and in 2015 was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in recognition of his services to the bereaved and to charity.

Dr. Fiona Scott is a Chartered Psychologist and former Research Associate at the Autism Research Centre (ARC). She has over 17 years’ experience in researching and assessing children and adults with autism spectrum disorders. Her research interests include the epidemiology autism and Asperger syndrome in 5-11 year-olds, and developing work exploring prospective incidence of autism spectrum disorders. Dr. Scott has also been involved with the Department of Health workshop and policy drafting on Asperger syndrome, the All Party Parliamentary Group on Autism, the National Initiative for Autism Screening and Assessment (NIASA), and the Review Group for the Medical Research Council Review of Autism Research.

About Our Project – Supporting Young People and Adults with Asperger Syndrome

This is a demand-led project, supporting people with Asperger syndrome in crisis with poor mental health, financial poverty and faced with barriers of rurality, poor transport links, and lack of expert support in their area. Without access to the right support, people's mental wellbeing declines exacerbated by their autism. During the past  2-years we have supported an increased number of people with autism who are suicidal and where mainstream mental health services do not always have the in-depth knowledge of autism required to provide the support individuals need.  

The project will be delivered at local community venues and/or people’s homes, as appropriate. Project delivery will be sensitive to people’s autistic and individual needs, who may present with challenging behaviour, adapting support to improve long-term financial wellbeing.    

Our project provides vulnerable young people/adults with autism providing information, advice, and advocacy to improve financial wellbeing and developing skills needed for successful independent living.  We are expanding our services to the King’s Lynn/West Norfolk area in response to increased demand and where services delivered in the context of autism is required.

Our project will support young people aged 16+ through to adulthood (with no upper age limit – if people need our help, then we want to be able to positively respond to their needs) helping to improve the financial wellbeing of people with Asperger syndrome (AS)/High Functioning Autism.  Delivery held over 15 hours a week will include:

-individual Assessment and Action Plan to address identified needs

-Benefit Entitlement Checker providing advocacy and support where we believe people are not receiving their full entitlement(s)

-practical budgeting skills relevant to the individual's personal circumstances 

-individual support which takes into account the unique needs of the person with autism to ensure information, advice and guidance is understood

-highlight wider opportunities available with the charity including Adult Social Groups held online and in-person at community venues reflective of the group's choice; employment and training opportunities, and a women's group. 

-gathering feedback from people accessing project support to establish what worked well and what could be improved to inform future delivery

Our project outcomes:

• raised levels of self-confidence 
• newly acquired skills to maintain healthy finances – income/expenditure, financial planning, understanding debt, where to get timely help
• newly acquired skills to live independently in the community and in their own home, or with family, as they chose
• positive financial wellbeing which positively impacts on their mental health and wellbeing 
• the financial resources and desire to take part in community activities as a result of increased disposable income and improved mental health
• improved social and personal networks
• improved social inclusion.

Donations to the project will contribute towards staff mileage estimated at around 90 miles a week (£36 per week); salary costs (£10,817 over 12 months),  I-pad (£319) and mobile phone (£24 a month, 12 months in total)m marketing and publicity (£69), project monitoring/safeguarding, staff supervision etc (£558).  We have recently been awarded a grant of £5,000 towards this project! 

Our Client Testimonials: 

“There appeared to be no help whatsoever for adults with Asperger syndrome in Norfolk and then I found your website. After my initial call with Donna everything then started to slot into place, she really gets my difficulties and knew immediately what needed to be done to make my life easier. 

Donna sorted out my benefits and signed me up to the adult group and applied for me to have a free bus pass. Everything has changed for me thanks to the help I have been given” – Asperger East Anglia Client, 2022

And,

“So many times, when I have been worried about something like getting Access to work, speaking to my landlord, and many other problems, I can call into the AEA office and someone will be able to help me. 

I am not a very driven person and tend to over think things until they feel like massive problems, anxiety enters every bit of my physical body and I have a meltdown which can take days to subside. I know I should tackle my problems as they turn up but I just can’t find the motivation.   

I now know that seeking help form the charity as soon as a worry enters my mind saves me major distress. Thank you for being there Asperger East Anglia”

 Our Rewards:

-make a £5 donation and you will receive a high five!

-make a £25 donation and you will receive a personal thank you from one of our service users via video!   

-make a £50 donation and a young person attending our training Workshop will make you a house sign!  We will just need your house name.

This project successfully funded on 16th December 2022