About Autistic Society Greater Manchester Area

Autism is a life-long development disability that affects the way a person communicates and relates to people around them. Children and adults with autism are unable to relate to others in a meaningful way. For example, skills that we take for granted like the ability to understand tone of voice or simple facial gestures, are very hard to comprehend for people with autism.

The condition comes in varying degrees of severity and in some cases a person with autism may also have an additional mental or physical disability such as schizophrenia or blindness, as well as other neurological conditions such as ADD, Dyslexia etc. There is also a condition called Asperger syndrome which is a form of autism used to describe people at the higher functioning end of the autistic spectrum and working with people with Asperger Syndrome is a speciality of ASGMA.

ASGMA works across Greater Manchester providing support for people with autism and those who care for them. The organisation works to help people with autism and Asperger Syndrome to socially engage and live with as much independence as possible.

The society provides an information helpline, parent to parent support, parent resource information on autism as well as a multitude of other parent and carer support.  In addition the ASGMA Aspirations Project provides personal and social and leisure opportunities for people with Asperger Syndrome / Higher Functioning Autism.

Our history

The Society has been in existence since 1968, having been started by two Manchester teachers, Roger & Betty Delahunty.  The parents who helped them set up the Society realised the importance of creating a local network of support.  The original name was `The Manchester & District Society for Autistic Children’. This was changed in 1984 to ` The Autistic Society for the Manchester Area’ and then in 1997 to Autistic Society Greater Manchester Area.
 
In the early days the society was without paid staff and was reliant on volunteers to develop services, but since these days the Society has developed significantly over now employing 7 members of staff and running a multi Function Resource Centre with a specialist project (Aspirations) supporting over 250 individuals with Asperger Syndrome from across Greater Manchester.
 
One thing that his not changed since the inception of ASGMA, and that has been a continual support service to parents and carers of people with Autism, whether as face to face support groups, telephone support networks or other support as has been needed over the years – this has been at the heart of the organisation since 1968 and will continue into the future.