Fundamentals:

1. Creating Autism led Autistic community begins with a strong Autism led group with at least 300 members. This is essential because it provides the foundation of numbers and support which enables further projects to happen.

2. Once you have a strong group the next thing that you need is a Permanent Autistic Space. It doesn't matter what form this takes as long as it is a permanent space for Autistic people. This provides a safe space for people to meet up an share their ideas.

3. Having these two things in place provides a catalyst for other projects to start to form. People start to feel inspired to create other projects and feel that there is sufficient support from the Autistic community for them to do so. This is where the magic happens and new ideas start to emerge.

History:

In 2021 Dimensions for Autism was created after the person leading the previous group died. Sam C and Matt G who were members of the previous group were tasked with recruiting a new person to lead the group. They chose wisely and selected Trish to lead the new group that would now be called 'Dimensions for Autism'. Trish brought a new approach. The groups were structured in that everyone did a check in at the start and then they had a group discussion about a topic related to autism. The groups used a traffic light system of cards that people could use so that everyone got a chance to speak. The group held meetings accross the county. They also held online meetings on Discord and had a discord server where people could socialise online. 

The result of this was that people liked the structure of this and the sense of community that it created. The size of Dimensions for Autism grew and now has 400+ members. 

Side by side with this was Dimensions for Autism's involvement with the Autism Ambassadors. The Autism Ambassadors gave Autistic people representation within local authority services, the NHS, the Police etc. It was a form of advocacy that meant that Autistic peoples experiences could be fed back and that improvements could be made. Trish also made contacts with and had regular meetings with local authority services and was able to give local autistic people a far higher level of advocacy/representation than they would have in most places. 

The Autism Woodland Project started in 2021 and Autistic people started to visit the wood. People from Dimensions for Autism started visiting the wood in 2022 and also started doing an annual visit to the wood each summer. People started meeting up and sharing their ideas. 

Liz started Autistic After Hours in the Torbay area initially so that people could meet up after office hours. The group grew and grew and started to offer a wider range of activities and also to offer drop in advice sessions where people could get advice on any issues that they were facing. 

Laurence who had a history of building music studios came up with a revolutionary new soundproofed design for Autistic housing that would be both sustainable and affordable. It utilized recycled materials and had an end of life plan for the materials used in construction. The soundproofing would provide the perfect solution for the problems with noise that Autistic people face with housing. Laurence formed a new CIC called the Devon Autistic Housing Company with the help of Jack and Trish.

The rest, as they say, is history and all that remains to be said is that all of this has created an environment where new ideas to help and improve the lives of autistic people are emerging all the time. If you can create a community and an environment where people can thrive, then great things can start to happen.....

Note: This is just a very concise version of events and further, more detailed information about all the projects involved can be found using the links on the Home Page.