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Autism Identity & Awareness for Neurodivergent Adults

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We all have a unique set of skills, strengths
and talents – let’s find yours

Submit an EOI now!

Groups for 2024 are full, but please express interest for next year.

Where: Online via Zoom
Cost: Free

This 11-week online program is co-designed and peer-led by neurodivergent facilitator/s. It offers neurodivergent participants the opportunity to reframe their understanding of autism. The aim is to help participants understand how autism affects them personally and thereby increase their confidence and self-awareness.

The program covers a range of topics including the social model of disability and neurodiversity, the benefits of neurodiversity to employers, culture and society, fluctuating functioning and how to manage and plan for different situations.

Interviews will be conducted closer to the start date with our program facilitator to ensure the program is properly suited to you.

Contact us for more information or complete the expression of interest form below to register your interest. We’d like to thank the Department of Social Services for supporting this project.

Topics covered in this course include:

Session 0:Meet your facilitator – so we can answer any
questions you may have about the program
Session 1:Introduction to autism
Session 2:Disability & diversity
Session 3:History & current research
Session 4:Sensory processing
Session 5:Executive functioning Part 1
Session 6:Executive functioning Part 2
Session 7:Health & wellbeing
Session 8:Connection & communication
Session 9:Interests & employment
Session 10:Summary & Reflection
Session 11:Windup
Yes! The most helpful part was having an autistic facilitator who was openly autistic and had found a professional niche where her autism was valued. This made me see there were possibilities I didn’t realise existed and made me feel a lot more optimistic about my professional future. It was also helpful to connect with other late diagnosed (or identifying) adults, especially the women, and find solidarity and validation in our shared experiences. I enjoyed the content coverage and especially found helpful various links and references to books, infographics, concepts, people, YouTube videos, etc that every autistic person should know about. I feel like it was a really good intro to the culture of the global autistic community as it stands now and the key issues we face and gave us a good starting point (in terms of language, foundational concepts, etc) to explore from.
Past AIA participant
I didn’t realize I had some issues executive functioning for example when it was explained, and I could reflect back I could see it and put some strategies in place.
Past AIA participant
Yes, very much so! I greatly appreciated being able to share experiences with others and have them say “me too!” and genuinely have some understanding of what I’m going through – also then sharing strategies for managing challenges (or simply validating and commiserating).
Past AIA participant
I really enjoyed the discussions with the other participants, who were of similar background as myself. It helped me to feel less alone in my experiences and struggles.
Past AIA participant
It taught me how to describe autism and the social model of disability. It taught me a lot about autism and the different aspects of autism.
Past AIA participant
…my brain is special and (I) can do some amazing things that other people find quite difficult/challenging – I have hope for the first time in my life.
Past AIA participant
I’m making decisions for my wellbeing for the first time in my life and I’m getting negative feedback for doing that. They are not understanding my significant personal growth and change. My whole life used to be about masking which was the reason I existed, to avoid people talking to me about problems and now I’m trying to make my life about experiencing wellbeing and having fun and just being a person in the world.
Past AIA participant
One of the things I really got from this group is that I hear my stories coming out of your mouth and that makes me feel connected to the world and everything gets better.
 I thought, ‘Ok I have autism’ but I don’t fit in to any of these boxes that I understand autism to be. What I found particularly helpful was just being around a cohort of me because I pretty much am you guys. My experience is totally typical of for the demographic we are, the generation of lost girls, functional enough to survive in the world but not functional enough to thrive. If you look at our cohort and I’m totally normal.
Past AIA participant
I have really grown into and embraced my autistic identity over the past 6 months! I see myself being quite active in the autism grassroots space in the future but it is not clear what form that will take at the moment – but helping to build positive autistic identity is something I feel very strongly about now, that and the need for autistic-run services and advocacy.
Past AIA participant
The AIA course gave me confidence and a taste of belonging – two things that I never really genuinely had before, and it led to a cascade of positive changes in my life.
Past AIA participant
Finding community and finding people who share your experiences and you don’t feel ashamed about them because finally you’re normal in a space and finding role models (the facilitator) was the first person I had come across who was openly autistic but also using it as valued asset. You don’t even realise it’s a possibility until you see it and it opens up all these possibilities.
Past AIA participant
I really liked just having that direction of, this is what most people think or this is a political or controversial issue, getting the lay of the land so I felt more confident occupying space in the community. It (the program) gives you confidence to explore more.
Past AIA participant
Last Saturday when I went out with my friends to have dinner, I knew it was going to be loud and noisy, so I prepared myself and I slept most of Sunday to recover. But at least I understood what the cost was going to be, and what the benefit was, and I hadn’t seen them in ages so it was worth it. I could make that decision myself.
Past AIA participant
One of the things the course has given me around identity and awareness is the language that I can use, whether it’s asking for support or accommodations. I had come across a lot of the terminology that was used and coming to understand what each meant, which was preferable and what the history behind it was and the context.
Past AIA participant
That shared ‘Oh I’m not the only one!’, even if that means I’m one of four in the whole world I’m not the only one. It validates my experience and it helps me be less judgmental of myself and that’s something I have always been very good at- judging myself and criticising myself.
Past AIA participant
Finding out that there are other people like me, particularly women who have the history and late diagnosis and all of those things that aren’t what most people assume an autistic person would be like.
Past AIA participant

The program has limited space, please submit an EOI as soon as possible.