Organised by Autism ForwardOnly 3 in 10 autistic people are currently in employment. Help us to change this by raising funds to support more autistic job seekers into employment and enable access to social activities, training and peer support groups.
Undeterred by the torrential rain and raging thunderstorms overnight, five teams of cyclists - the Tortoises, Hares, Foxes, Hounds and the Solenodons - turned out on a bleak Sunday morning to cycle a 100km loop into Kent to raise funds for Autism Forward.
The roads and skies were drier than expected and the ride itself passed off without incident. The Badger Back up team were only called upon once for a mechanical. The routes were challenging on the day, but all teams completed them commendably. The Hares finally beat the Tortoises, third event lucky! See above for photos of the ride and all the teams.
Our thanks to all the cyclists, the back up team and everyone who so kindly donated to support our work. Thanks to your incredible generosity, we have smashed our original target which will enable us to fund our work for the next 12 months. This is an absolutely fantastic achievement, we are so grateful to you all.
The latest Labour Force Survey shows that only 3 in 10 working age autistic people are in employment and autistic graduates have the lowest employment rate of all disabled graduates. Autistic people face a cliff edge in support when they leave education and there is very little post-diagnosis support for late diagnosed adults.
However, the specialist one to one mentoring that Autism Forward funds is extremely effective, with over 90% of the autistic job seekers we have supported over the last five years securing paid or voluntary employment, transforming their lives.
100% of our clients say they would recommend our support to other autistic job seekers. Recent feedback below from of one of our clients who has recently secured employment:
Thanks to Ros and the support of Autism Forward, I now have a great new job! When I started this mentoring process, I felt completely lost and lacking in confidence. I didn’t know what type of work to look for and felt stuck. The mentoring helped to boost my confidence and develop my self-understanding. I began to search and apply for jobs in a way that became routine and, therefore, less daunting. I have developed skills and knowledge that I can take with me into the workplace so that I can thrive as an autistic person. I will be forever grateful for the support I have received - thank you!
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