Torbay Autism Ambassadors April 2024 Newsletter
Welcome to the second issue of the Torbay Autism Ambassadors newsletter! A lot has happened in the last six months that we now look forward to updating you about over the next couple of pages.
As ambassadors we are members of the Autism Partnership Board and are committed to raising awareness of autism and to create better understanding and acceptance for autistic people. We work together to be a voice for autistic people in Torbay about concerns and struggles of the community, such as access to healthcare, and work to improve the wellbeing, inclusion and outcomes for autistic people in Torbay.
The current ambassadors are Richard, Heidi, Sarah, Liz, and we would like to now welcome Adrian as a new ambassador. We’re very glad to have him as part of our team. Recruitment of ambassadors is ongoing. If you or someone you know would like to be an autism ambassador please contact Trish Darke at trishdarke.dimensionsforautism@gmail.com for further details.
As ambassadors we have been working on producing our version of an autism health passport for autistic people in Torbay, which is in its final stages of development.
We looked at many different health passports that are already available and took what we considered to be the most important information to use on our own, without it being too complex to fill in and to read. The important thing was for it to have all the vital information to best support the autistic individual and for that information to be quick and easy for a health care professional to take into consideration in the care they give
An ambassador’s success to celebrate: the Torbay Leisure Card (a card that entitles holders to discounts on leisure activities such as swimming, sports clubs and use of gyms) is now available to autistic people in Torbay! The card can be obtained by Torbay residents with a Devon autism alert card from Torbay Leisure Centre, The Riviera International Centre, Swim Torquay or Admiral Swimming Centre.
Autistic people are more likely than nonautistic people to develop diabetes and heart disease, and 80% of autistic people have a cooccurring mental health condition, so improving availability and access to leisure and fitness activities across Torbay is an important step in supporting the health and wellbeing of autistic people.
This month marks a big milestone for the Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training in Devon with over 500 NHS staff now having received the training, with the majority of those being trained at Torbay hospital.
Delivery started in November with a training session happening at the hospital once a week since then. Both Heidi and Sarah are expert by experience co-trainers and are really enjoying the role and thriving on being able to use their lived experience in such important and vital training for NHS staff.
Healthwatch visited the ambassadors just before Christmas to find out more about the barriers to healthcare that autistic people face in Torbay. In follow up to this they then attended the DFA Torbay meeting in March to get the views of the wider autistic community. Common themes were GPs not understanding autism, issues with accessing appointments, inadequate mental health support and provision for autistic people, diagnostic overshadowing (regularly having physical concerns dismissed and labelled as anxiety) and failure to implement and follow reasonable adjustments.
Another major Achievement: Liz, with the support of Al (a member of the autistic community) and Helen Dunlop (autism specialist social worker), has started the CIC Autistic After Hours – a social support group for autistic adults without a learning disability in Torbay. Meetings currently take place on one Saturday afternoon a month and it’s already been so well attended that for future meetings a larger room has had to be hired.
Although Torbay benefits greatly from having a DFA support group one afternoon a month, autistic people who are in work or education can’t often attend due to timings. Autistic After Hours is there for autistic people who can’t usually attend daytime groups in the week, as well as those who might experience loneliness or struggle with lack of routine and structure over the weekend. Autistic people can come together to socialise, relax and play games, as well as planning for future additional meetings like evening walks and day trips out, for example to the Autism Woodland in North Devon. The immediate popularity and keenness for more shows how vital groups like this are for autistic people in the community. Autistic people can find out more and be added to the mailing list by emailing:autisticafterhours@gmail.com
We are in the early stages of planning our next autism awareness event. The theme will be employment and education, aimed at both employers and autistic people. We’re hoping to hold the event in September.
APB Upcoming Events
Friday 24 May 2pm to 4.30pm
Friday 30 August 2pm to 4.30pm
Friday 29 November 2pm to 4.30pm