There are more than half a million autistic people living in the UK, an invisible and misunderstood disability. 60,000 live in the West Midlands.

We are the leading charity in the West Midlands for people on the autism spectrum. We use our expertise to enrich the lives of autistic people and those who love and care for them. Our passionate, expert staff and volunteers work across all age groups and abilities, providing direct support.

Our vision is for a world where autistic people are universally understood and accepted as equal citizens.

What did we do this year for Autism Acceptance Week?

During autism acceptance week we looked more closely at what acceptance means and looks like for the people we support, our staff and within the community. We  shared what we do as a charity towards achieving autism acceptance all year round and how people benefit from the work we do. We also shared inspiring stories from autistic people throughout the week.

What did you do to support us or the campaign?

We ran our ‘Autism Acceptance’ campaign where we asked people to tell us what autism acceptance looks like to them. Blank posters were able to be downloaded to complete and for people to take selfies with, The results of this are linked below.

Fundraising ideas you joined in with! 

The general theme for Autism Acceptance Week this year was ‘Colour’ and we thought of many different ways you could have joined us to celebrate this year’s campaign or possibly any other time or reason you may wish to fundraise for us!! We came up with some great fundraising ideas for you to consider to help raise vital funds that enable us to provide much needed care and support to autistic people and their families. These were:

Colour Quiz

Host a colour themed quiz with different rounds centred on different colours! Charge people a small fee to enter and enjoy getting competitive with friends or colleagues whilst raising funds for us!

Rainbow cake sale

Have a bake-off at your school, home or workplace! See how many different coloured cakes you can make, or make one giant rainbow cake. You could even give everyone a different colour cake to bring in and rate the best one! Bake sales are always really popular because…. Who doesn’t love a nice piece of cake!

Rainbow Fancy Dress

Have a single colour theme fancy dress day, or just go for a general ‘rainbow’ theme. Maybe you could even hold a competition of who can wear the most colours at once! Bring some colour into the classroom, workplace or your own home and get lots of photos of everyone’s colourful outfits and tag us on your social media @autismwestmidlands– we will share the best ones!

Crazy hair day

Is there someone daring enough to dye their hair a bright colour that they wouldn’t normally have and raise funds for AWM in the process? Or what about donning your best coloured crazy wig for the day? Get creative with your hairstyles – gel it, mousse it, plait it, shave it, spray it…. Get creative and send us your pics of your colourful hairdos!

Colourful arts and crafts

Why not spend some time getting crafty and making some colour inspired art? This could be autism themed- maybe a collage on what autism acceptance means to you?- or some colourful painting and drawing! We would love to see them so don’t forget to share your pictures with us by tagging us on socials @autismwestmidlands

For more information on fundraising, to download a fundraising pack or to see some extra tips and ideas for your fundraising event click the following link: https://autismwestmidlands.org.uk/support-us/fundraising/ 

 

'AUTISM ACCEPTANCE IS...' Blank Printable Speech Bubble