Westport starts on road to becoming and autism friendly town

The Autism Friendly Communities initiative from AsIAm – Ireland’s Autism Charity - follows a series of principles to encourage autism inclusion at all levels of a local community, and has been successfully implemented in over twenty towns nationwide including Castlebar and Balla. The Westport scheme officially commenced last Wednesday, 17 April, with an initial gathering of autistic people, family members of those with autism, practitioners, businesses and supporters in local community. As part of the journey towards becoming fully accredited by AsIAm as an Autism Friendly Town, local groups, organisations and businesses will be approached and supported to take measures to provide an environment that considers the needs of local residents and visitors with autism.

The overall goal of the initiative is to ensure autistic individuals have full access to goods and services in Westport, and that their lived experience is one of support and inclusion across all aspects of daily life, while enhancing the town’s ability to be inclusive for all. Given the significant increase in autism diagnoses over the past number of years, the group hopes that their efforts will be welcomed by the community at large.

Led by recently appointed Chair, Maura Kiely, the programme objective is to build on the existing initiatives that are already in place in Westport, as well as kick-starting a three-year journey that will include training for champion organisations, autism-friendly events, and awareness campaigns to inform the wider public about autism acceptance and accessibility locally. The next phase of work for the group will be to develop and launch a Town Plan which will map out how this will be achieved over the coming three years.

For more information on this initiative, becoming a champion business, or to attend the next group meeting, email: westportautismfriendlytown@hotmail.com. You can also receive updates by following Westport Autism Friendly Town on Facebook and Instagram.