Aut.Scot 2021

Autism Rights Group Highland (ARGH) and Autistic Mutual Aid Society Edinburgh (AMASE)  co-hosted a free online conference on the 23rd and 24th of October 2021 to bring together people interested in autistic-led autism organisations, with the support of the Scottish Government. Videos of most of the talks are online.

We had speakers from Autistic People’s Organisations (APOs) from around Europe, describing how their organisations run and how they got started. We also had speakers discussing funding opportunities, legal aspects of setting up an organisation and the importance of representative APOs and collective advocacy for the autistic community and for government. There were opportunities for networking, discussion and socialising.

Our goal is to support people to set up APOs around Scotland, to help bring autistic people together and make our voices heard at every level of society. APOs can be regional like ARGH and AMASE, or interest based, for example for autistic artists or musicians. They can represent a particular group of people, for example: people of colour, asylum seekers, teachers, LGBTQIA+ people, university students or workers – any group that could benefit from joining together and possibly becoming a representative voice for its members.

Programme:

Day 1Day 2
10amHousekeeping (Kabie Brook or Chair)10amHousekeeping
10.10amIntro by Hugh McAloon, Deputy Director for Mental Health Complex Care10.10amLeo Starrs-Cunningham
You don’t need to Incorporate: approaches to having a working structure
10.20Kabie Brook  / Fergus Murray
Who are ARGH and AMASE and why have we planned this event
10.30Fergus Murray
What is an APO and why can they be useful 
10.40Leo Starrs-Cunningham Q&A
11amBreak11.00amBreak
11.15amGraham Morgan MBE
Our collective voice; It’s value: how it can be done; some of the pitfalls.
11.15amFiona Scott
‘First steps towards income generation- getting started’.
11.45amGraham Morgan
Q&A
12:00Heta Pukki
“EUCAP and the diversity of autistic people’s organisations in Europe”
12.15pmBreak12.15pmBreak
12.45pmLeneh Buckle Herding cats, sloths and butterflies: Effective working with groups of autistic people12.55pmHeta Pukki (host)
Short presentations from invited APOs, who are we and what do we do? Video: Adventor, Lava, PAS, Autistic Doctors, AutAngel, PARC & Understanding Autism Scotland.
To include Scottish organisations, European organisations
1.15pmLeneh Buckle
Q&A
1.30pmOpen discussion: Questions, ideas (Breakout rooms if applicable)
1.30pmSumming up day 1 reminder for day 21.55pmSumming up day 2 plus what next. Link to feedback survey and website
1.55pmEnd2:10pmOlder autistics discussion
Logos: ARGH (Autism Rights Group Highland) and AMASE (Autistic Mutual Aid Society Edinburgh)