What inspired you to start volunteering with autism West Midlands?

So I’ve come to your service before with an Autism Confidence Course. And my Nan has also said that I’m quite good with helping other people who have autism or other disabilities. So volunteering might be beneficial for me. So that’s why I decided to volunteer. It is also nice for the group to have a member of staff who is autistic as well.

What’s your favourite memory from volunteering here?

There’s just too many because there’s so many wonderful people here. We have so many topics. It’s it’s hard to choose.

How does volunteering impact your life?

Well, it helps get me out of the house a lot more and socialise with other people. We share a lot about our hobbies and interests.

What do you enjoy the most about working with our community?

It’s benefiting with helping them. Yeah. So, say, if there’s people who are shy, I want to help them feel comfortable and eventually help bring confidence in them. Instead of thinking I’m just weird, I’m a black sheep of the society and all that. No, it’s just the way that you think. And it’s normal to think like that.

How do you feel volunteering has made a difference?

With volunteering, it’s made a difference by giving back to the community. Yeah. And it’s also nice to see what that impact does. Yeah. whereas if I didn’t volunteer, it could have potentially prevented it could have potentially not helped someone. So then that person would have been stuck and thinking all these horrible things about them when. It’s just who they are. Being a role model is important.