Membership up! Activites increased! Raising awareness! Networking across Berkshire!
In 2006 the Charity won a 3 year grant from the Big Lottery Fund to run a project to expand BAS and it’s services, to reach more people with ASD, to provide professionals and the public with information and support and to increase the awareness of ASD. The project has now finished and these are some of the highlights of what we have achieved with this grant.
Providing information and support
Office opening hours increased, and will be maintained, from 10-2 term time only to 10-4 all year.
Helpline enquiries increased over the period of the grant from an average of 30 per month in the first quarter to an average of 77 per month in the final year.
6 Newsletters per year issued to members on a bi-monthly regular schedule, irregular and fewer newsletters previously, and a weekly email update now established.
BAS membership has increased by 36%, from 327 in Sept 2006 to 514 at the end of August 2009.
BAS provides support in a variety of ways, running regular support groups for parents and carers and welcomes callers to its offices.
Factfile now regularly updated.
Services for children
BAS has extended its social programme for families with more Pokemon events and trips to Thames Valley Adventure Playground in addition to its regular swimming and trampolining and school holiday outings. In 2009 approximately 380 people attended family outings and social activities. This was a 40% increase on the previous year.
BAS was involved in Aiming High for Disabled Children in Reading during 2009 and assisted in making the open day a success with running an autism friendly activity room where children could play and parents network. BAS is on the Steering Group for Aiming High Short Breaks and treasurers of Parent Participation Funding in Reading.
Sevices for adults
Extended the work experience opportunities for adults with ASD, by taking on 2 more people for short-term assignments in the last year. Overall 9 adults have enjoyed work experience at BAS.
Also provided more opportunities for adults to volunteer for BAS: 4 adults with Aspergers helped at the Reading Half Marathon in 2009 and 3 helped at our fundraising event at Harris Gardens in summer 2009.
Support worker providing one-to-one support for one adult, several adults supported through the social groups and helpline, and BAS team member supporting one adult with employment issues. The Helpline receives 2-3 calls per week from adults with an ASD.
Held meetings at both further education colleges in Berkshire (East Berkshire College and Thames Valley University) and ran autism awareness sessions for departments delivering additional learner support.
2 Adult Social groups running, with one meeting per week available. Social Skills programme started. About 35 adults enjoy the social activities on a regular basis.
Education and training
DLA workshops run for parents and professionals. BAS staff provide advice and guidance to parents and carers applying for Disability Living Allowance and BAS offers a workshop and detailed booklet of advice for people applying for DLA for children aged 16 and under.
Employment workshops run for those in work and for those looking for work.
Re-established a regular monthly programme of speaker meetings. 478 people attended speaker/training events in the last year, 229 in 2007-08 and 143 in the first year – a 70% increase over the project, with the number of professionals attending more than doubling.
Networking and lobbying
Despite having 6 Unitary Authorities covering Berkshire and only a small team of staff and volunteers, BAS has a presence in all of the local authorities (in Children’s Services, Social Service, local Disability Partnership Boards etc) except Bracknell (which is now the target for the coming year) and on the Berkshire Healthcare Foundation Trust.
BAS staff and volunteers attend key meetings, and have established relationships with all local authorities and the NHS, Connexions, JobCentrePlus, together with other voluntary organisations, such as Mencap, NAS, other autism charities.
Together with Wokingham Learning Disability Partnership Board, BAS is leading on an initiative to roll out an Autism Alert Card across Berkshire with another 13 organisations in partnership.
BAS successfully lobbied for a specialist service for adults with ASD to be set up by the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead.
BAS has set up a health group to lobby for better health services for adults with autism, particularly an adequately resourced diagnosis service in Berkshire.
Raising awareness of autism
BAS held an Information Day in Bracknell in year 2 of the project, which over 200 people attended.
BAS has run Autism awareness training and workshops for community groups,such as schools, scout group, Rotary Club and duty solicitors, to promote understanding of, and appropriate responses to, autism.
BAS has also delivered autism awareness training for professionals and organisations, such as the Royal Berks Hospital NHS Trust A&E doctors, Bracknell Forest Borough Council team providing school transport and the Thames Valley University team providing learning support for students with ASD.
Our fundraising activities, such as tinshakes (average 8 per year), also raise awareness of, and help to inform the general public about, ASD.
BAS ran a campaign for World Autism Awareness Day on 2nd April 2009 to promote awareness locally through a balloon race which received local press coverage.
Over the last year there have been 28 contacts with the press; 7 of these were pre-recorded radio interviews and one was a live radio interview on BBC Radio Berkshire.