In November 2017, I met a young man called James who's story went viral. His sister had posted a request of Facebook for James to recieve birthday cards from as many people as possible as, when asked what he would like for his birthday, he replied 'new friends'. Of course, this went viral and he recieved lots of cards, presents and invites to various places all around the world! After meeting James and his wonderful family at his 21st birthday party (on the same day as mine!), we discussed the lack of support for adults with autism to access social events and activities in the area.

Being a regular climber, I already knew how climbing can benefit a person's confidence, social skills, self belief and ability to build trusting relationships, all whilst having fun and staying active. Despite all these benefits, there is a distinct lack of accessibility for adults with autism to access indoor and outdoor climbing activities without already being part a community group.

After making steps towards changing this, things are looking very promising! In partnership with Manchester Climbing Centre, we will be attempting to run a pilot scheme throughout the summer which enables adults on the autistic spectrum to access indoor climbing in an informal setting. The session will be integrated with normal public climbing hours, and they will be support both on and off the wall by experienced climbers and instructors.

We hope that this can be become a permanent fixture in Manchester's climbing world and, hopefully, further afield, but we have to start somewhere!

Help us to support six weeks of trial sessions of this fantastic project by giving anything you can!