Sheffield autism charity celebrates 20th birthday

Over the past 20 years, the Centre has supported almost 600 autistic adults with their journey into work.

The small team at the charity supports autistic adults to achieve and maintain long-term employment. They help them to secure work placements to gain experience then work with them step by step into supported, paid employment.

The Centre is funded through Sheffield City Council’s European Social fund, and works closely with local organisations including Sheffield City Trust, the National Emergency Services Museum, South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue and St Luke’s Hospice.

Centre Manager, Jayne Butler, said: “It was recognised back in 2003 that there was little provision for autistic adults when leaving education and entering the workplace. Many autistic people find it hard to navigate this process alone.

“Our work gives autistic adults the opportunity to transition towards work gradually and with a stable support network to achieve their full potential.

“Our story speaks for itself, you only have to look at all the clients we work with to see how much the work we do impacts on their lives and ambitions - they never fail to amaze us.”

The team also works closely with employers, to ensure each individual has what they need to succeed and offer the opportunity for employers to learn about autism spectrum disorder.

Walker Wood Ltd Chartered Business Surveyors is one of the local businesses that the Centre partners with to offer employment and placements.

Samantha Wood, of Walker-Wood Ltd, said: “After almost nine years of working with the Autism Centre for Supported Employment, we look back on that relationship as integral to our success as a small independent surveying practice.

It’s a relationship where we can support the charity and those job seekers it works to help, individuals that some employees may potentially overlook, who deserve to be, and are, valued and professional members of our team.

“Walker Wood has benefited from several great members of staff over the years, introduced to us through our work with the Autism Centre, and we look forward to continuing working with them into the future.”

To celebrate the birthday, the Centre hosted a fundraising event at Ponds Forge. The event was sponsored by Churchill Group, Patriot Games, Jane Thistlewhite at Hays travel and Sheffield City Trust.

All funds raised at the event are going back into the charity to support more adults on their journey.