National Autistic Society
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| Founded | 1962 |
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| Founder | Group of London-based parents |
| Type | Registered charity |
| Focus | Supporting the rights and interests of all autistic people |
| Location |
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Area served | United Kingdom |
Members (2020–present) | 20,000[1] |
Revenue (2012–13) | £88 million[citation needed] |
| Employees | 3,630[citation needed] |
| Website | www |
| Neurodiversity paradigm |
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The National Autistic Society is the leading charity for autistic people and their families in the UK. Since 1962, the National Autistic Society has been providing support, guidance and advice, as well as campaigning for improved rights, services and opportunities to help create a society that works for autistic people.
The mission of the charity is to transform lives and change attitudes to help create a society that works for autistic people.
Activities
The National Autistic society is a member of the All Party Parliamentary Group on Autism.[2]
The National Autistic Society is also a founding member of Autism-Europe, an umbrella organisation bringing together 80 autism organisations from over 30 European countries. As a member of Autism-Europe, the National Autistic Society collaborates and shares examples of learning and good practice with other associations throughout the continent.
The current Chief Executive is Caroline Stevens. She took over from Mark Lever in 2019, after being Chief Executive at Kids for six years.[3]
Organisation
Over 3,000 people work for the National Autistic Society in schools and services as well as training, fundraising, policy and campaigns teams.
Led by their Chief Executive, Caroline Stevens, the National Autistic Society's strategic management group of seven directors is accountable to the Board of Trustees.
The president of the National Autistic Society is Jane Asher and the patron is The Countess of Wessex.[4] The National Autistic Society is funded through UK government grants and voluntary contributions.
The National Autistic Society has the following names registered with the Charity Commission:
- The National Autistic Society
- National Society for Autistic Children
- Autism UK
- Action for Autism
List of National Autistic Society schools and facilities
The National Autistic Society manages a number of schools in the United Kingdom:
- Church Lawton School in Church Lawton, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire for academic pupils/students which opened after the closure of Broomhayes School and the opening of Anderson School.[5]
- Helen Allison School in Gravesend (originally) followed by near Meopham, Kent for pupils/students aged between 4 and 22 years old[6]
- Radlett Lodge School in Hatfield (on temporary occasions) and in (mainly) Radlett, Hertfordshire for pupils/students aged between 4 and 22 years old[7]
- Robert Ogden School in Thurnscoe near Rotherham, Yorkshire for pupils/students aged between 5 and 19 years old[8][9][10]
- Sybil Elgar School in Southall (mainly), Ealing (since weekly boarding facilities first opened) and Acton (since sixth form classes were relocated), West London for pupils/students aged between 4 and 22 years old[11]
- Thames Valley School in Reading, Berkshire for academic pupils/students[12]
- Vanguard School in Lambeth (mainly) and Southwark (since weekly boarding facilities first opened), Southeast London for pupils/students aged from 11 to 19 years old, which opened in January 2020 either before or after the closure of both Anderson School and Daldorch House School. [13]
They National Autistic Society also runs services for autistic adults.
History
The organisation was founded on 23 January 1962 as the Autistic Children's Aid Society of North London by parents of autistic children living in the area, with the assistance of a member from the Spastics Society (later Scope).[14][15] It was renamed the Society for Autistic Children later that year,[16] the National Society for Autistic Children in 1966, and the National Autistic Society in 1975.[15]
In 1963, Gerald Gasson, a parent and member of the Executive Committee, designed the primary symbol for autism: a puzzle piece with a picture of a crying child inside of it, which was first used as logo by the NAS itself.[17][18][19] In 1965, The Society School for Autistic Children was established, later renamed as the Sybil Elgar School after their first principal.[20] It was described as "the first of its kind in the UK, and, it is thought, the world", and quickly became an example for how autistic people should be taught, and influenced the TEACCH methods in the US.[15]
Awards and nominations
| Year | Association | Category | Nominee(s) | Result | Refs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Diversity in Media Awards | Marketing Campaign of the Year | Make it Stop | Nominated | [21][22] |
References
- ^ "National Autistic Society membership". National Autistic Society (www.autism.org.uk). Retrieved 19 April 2020.
- ^ "Advisory group - All Party Parliamentary Group on Autism". www.appga.org.uk. Archived from the original on 26 January 2018. Retrieved 15 December 2018.
- ^ "National Autistic Society appoints new Chief Executive (28 June 2019) - National Autistic Society". National Autistic Society (www.autism.org.uk). Retrieved 11 November 2019.
- ^ "Our structure and people". National Autistic Society (www.autism.org.uk). Retrieved 17 April 2018.
- ^ "Church Lawton School - The National Autistic Society - NAS". National Autistic Society (www.autism.org.uk).
- ^ "Helen Allison School - The National Autistic Society - NAS". National Autistic Society (www.autism.org.uk).
- ^ "Radlett Lodge School - The National Autistic Society - NAS". National Autistic Society (www.autism.org.uk).
- ^ "Robert Ogden School - The National Autistic Society - NAS". National Autistic Society (www.autism.org.uk).
- ^ "The Robert Ogden School". OFSTED. 6 October 2020.
- ^ "SC032154". OFSTED. 12 May 2022.
- ^ "Sybil Elgar School - The National Autistic Society - NAS". National Autistic Society (www.autism.org.uk).
- ^ "Thames Valley School - The National Autistic Society - NAS". National Autistic Society (www.autism.org.uk).
- ^ "Vanguard School - The National Autistic Society - NAS". National Autistic Society (www.autism.org.uk).
- ^ Allison, Helen Green (June 1997). "Perspectives on a puzzle piece". National Autistic Society (www.nas.org.uk). Archived from the original on 25 February 2004. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ a b c Goldman, Lawrence (7 March 2013). Oxford Dictionary of National Biography 2005-2008. OUP Oxford. p. 344. ISBN 978-0-19-967154-0.
- ^ Chaloner, Len (17 December 1962). "The autistic child". The Guardian. p. 4.
- ^ "National Autistic Society Timeline - 1963. First NAS logo developed". National Autistic Society (www.tiki-toki.com). Retrieved 2 April 2017.
- ^ Grinker, Roy Richard; Mandell, David (1 June 2015). "Notes on a puzzle piece". Autism. 19 (6). SAGE Publications: 643–645. doi:10.1177/1362361315589293. PMID 26378295. S2CID 21016160.
- ^ Muzikar, Debra (20 April 2015). "The Autism Puzzle Piece: A symbol that's going to stay or go?". The Art of Autism. Retrieved 1 April 2017.
- ^ "Our Story So Far". National Autistic Society (www.tiki-toki.com). Retrieved 20 December 2017.
- ^ "2017 Shortlisted Creative - Diversity In Media Awards". Retrieved 17 April 2018 – via webcache.googleusercontent.com.
- ^ "Make It Stop". National Autistic Society. 28 March 2017. Archived from the original on 12 December 2021. Retrieved 17 April 2018 – via YouTube.
External links
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