Supporting You
Peer Support
Our lived experience offers a unique approach to support via lived experience directly from other neurodivergent individuals through member led activities and groups. As a self advocacy network, it’s vital that the neurodivergent voice remains at the forefront of what we aim to achieve, and having a member led approach allows us to support service users with the things that remain important to them.
Not only are the majority of our volunteers and staff neurodivergent, but we ensure a high percentage of neurodivergent people on our board of trustees to ensure that the ethos behind the charity remains.
Brene brown wrote: Fitting in is about assessing a situation and becoming who you need to be to fit in. Belonging, on the other hand, doesn’t require us to change who we are.
Collectively, our community aims to support individuals to feel comfortable in belonging; to feel open to be themselves, not only without judgement, but with a sense of pride and belonging with those around them. We have a safe and welcome space for individuals to share experiences and be part of a community that values and respects them for both their strengths and difficulties in life.
Self-advocacy
As part of our self advocacy service, we have created the opportunity for neurodivergent people in Tees Valley to share their lived experience. We hold a weekly self-advocacy group, where members are invited to discuss various topics that affect us. We regularly invite outside services, such as Safer Communities and Arch, to the group to discuss our experiences and work with them to improve their services for neurodivergent individuals.
We are currently piloting a ‘human library,’ where agencies and services arrange for a unique approach to training by discussing social needs directly with our service users, as a way of working with local agencies to enhance their services.