Leeds Autism AIM Monthly Update: February 2021
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Hello and welcome to our latest monthly newsletter! In this update from Leeds Autism AIM, part of The Advonet Group, we have news on:
- Our monthly timetable of online groups
- The rollout of Coronavirus vaccines in Leeds
- Dates for the Autism Reference Group meetings
- Our work with Leeds Mental Wellbeing Service
- Our Coproduction Group on making information accessible for autistic people
- Gaming Group on Discord: Open all hours!
- A paid internship for young autistic adults with the Civil Service
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Online Groups timetable: February 2021
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We're holding Peer Support sessions on the 2nd and 16th and our Women-Aligned Group on the 9th. Our Gaming Group on Discord will meet on the 23rd, while our Coproduction Group is on the 18th. Our Creatives Group returns too; it will be on the 26th.
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Online Groups mailing list
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If you are interested in joining any of our groups, we have a mailing list with information on how to join. If you would like to sign up, please click on the link below.
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Autism Reference Group meeting dates set for 2021
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The Autism Reference Group, a forum for autistic adults to give feedback on local services in Leeds, will meet four times this year. The first meeting of 2021 is on Tuesday 2nd March.
It is from 3pm-4:30pm and will be held on Zoom. It is open to autistic adults (aged 18+) living in Leeds. Please click below for more details on this and future Reference Group meetings happening this year.
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COVID-19 vaccines in Leeds: Useful information
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The rollout of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccines in Leeds has begun. Priority groups including older people and frontline health and social care workers are already being given the first dose.
Leeds NHS Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) have some useful information about the vaccines. It includes when, where and how they will be given. Please click below to read it.
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Coproduction Group to tackle accessible information guide
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Our next monthly Coproduction Group will be focusing on a new guide produced by the AIM team. It is about how to make print and digital information accessible to neurodivergent people.
The guide covers making things easier to process for autistic people, as well as people with dyslexia, dyspraxia, dyscalculia, ADHD and Tourette’s.
We would welcome any feedback we get from the wider autistic population. The session is on Thursday 18th February from 5:30pm-7pm on Zoom. More info on how to take part is at the link below.
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Leeds Mental Wellbeing Service: Working on accessible referral form
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The AIM team have been working with the Leeds Mental Wellbeing Service (LMWS) on making their referral form more accessible to autistic people to help them put across their additional needs.
If you would like help to refer to LMWS, AIM can help with this by helping you to fill in the referral form.
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Partnership with Engage Leeds
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We have also formed a new partnership with Engage Leeds to help make it easier for autistic adults to access housing support. In a workshop, we helped them to put together an action plan for how this will be done.
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Gaming Group on Discord: There when you need it
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Aside from a set session held monthly, our autistic-led Gaming Group on Discord runs informally throughout each month. The group has a number of different chat channels and a Board Game Arena account where you can play board games online.
It is open to autistic adults in Leeds aged 18 and over who get little or no funded support. Please contact us if you would like to join or get more info on how the group works.
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Improving access to care for people with long-term conditions
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Healthwatch Leeds have a survey out for people with long-term conditions. It asks what you think should be done to improve access to care, including information on test results and what support is available.
They are working with the local NHS and Leeds City Council to make improvements based on what you say. The survey can be accessed at the link below.
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The Advonet Group: Open for referrals
The Advonet Group, the charity that Leeds Autism AIM are part of, are open for advocacy referrals.
These include referrals for their Health Complaints Advocacy, Community Advocacy and Care Act Advocacy services.
To find out more about how they can help you, please click on the link below.
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Starting Line: Online training for employment
Scope are running a free course called Starting Line for disabled people looking to get into work.
The course will be run online and starts on Monday 15th February. It is open to disabled people in Leeds aged 16+.
If you are interested in enrolling on the course, please click on the button below for more info.
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LGBTQ+ neurodivergent people's stories
This month (February) is LGBTQ+ History Month. If you would like to know more about what it means to be LGBTQ+ and autistic, the AIM team made a video last summer with stories from neurodivergent LGBTQ+ people in Leeds. It features two of our current staff team!
To watch the video in full, please click on the link below.
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