National Autistic Society launches new strategy

The UK’s leading charity for autistic people, the National Autistic Society, has launched an ambitious new strategy, setting out its commitment to create a society that works for autistic people.

The three-year Vision to Reality strategy outlines the beliefs, ambitions and priorities that will guide the National Autistic Society’s work in the future.

The strategy follows the launch of the charity’s Moonshot Vision in September 2022, which focused on understanding the priorities of autistic people and their families to create a society that works for them. Now, the Vision to Reality strategy sets out what needs to be done to achieve this.

The strategy covers a wide range of aspects of life for autistic people, including education, employment, healthcare, mental health support, public spaces, social care and housing. It focuses the National Autistic Society’s resources and funding on three key areas:

• Support all autistic individuals to live their life on their own terms.
• Influence and collaborate with others to improve standards and adjustments.
• Transform society by building understanding, acceptance and respect for all autistic people.

Caroline Stevens, Chief Executive of the National Autistic Society, said: “We are extremely proud to launch our ambitious new Vision to Reality strategy, which is a vital step towards our goal of creating a society that truly works for autistic people.

“Our priority is to ensure the work we do is focused, targeted and provides the right help, advice and support to autistic people and their families. At every stage, our strategy has been guided by autistic people and their families, as well as our staff and external experts, and we are immensely grateful to everyone who has contributed to the strategy for their thoughts and insight.

“We celebrated our 60^th anniversary last year and we want to make the next 60 years count. We are ready to work hard with autistic people, supporters, campaigners and the Government to make our vision a reality.”

Helen Ellis, who is autistic, works for the National Autistic Society as Project Officer – Autistic Employee Experience, and had a pivotal role in developing the charity’s Moonshot Vision, said: “Seeing the way the Vision to Reality strategy lays out achievable foundations for us as a charity gives me hope for a brighter future. A future where I’m not working every day to try to make society better for autistic people, but instead a time when I’m just one of the thousands of autistic people who are collectively holding society to account so it stays accessible, inclusive, and supportive to all people.”

The National Autistic Society provides support for autistic people of all ages, from very young children through to adults, all across the UK.

Read the Vision to Reality strategy here: https://www.autism.org.uk/visiontoreality