Autistic UK — Autistic-Led Peer Support for Adults

Autistic UK is a community interest company run by autistic adults that does two things: it offers peer support to autistic and otherwise neurodivergent adults, and it works to make sure autistic people have a direct say in the policy, services and research that affect them. It is a Disabled People's Organisation — run and controlled by disabled people — and the team is made up of autistic adults who give their time voluntarily. For an adult who wants to talk with people who share the experience, rather than be assessed or treated, it is one of the few UK groups built entirely on that footing.

Its roots go back to the Autistic Rights Movement UK, founded in 2005. That became a voluntary organisation in 2009 and was incorporated as Autistic UK CIC (12015264) in 2019, launching publicly that May. Peer support runs online and in a hybrid format, in relaxed, informal sessions led by autistic and neurodivergent adults, where people swap knowledge, information and experience of autism and the conditions that often come with it. Self-identification is welcome — whether someone started to identify as autistic years ago or last week — and no diagnosis is needed. The organisation is open that peer support does not replace specialist mental health care; its value is in hearing that others have met the same barriers.

Demand currently outstrips places, so there is a waiting list, and interest is registered through the website. Beyond peer support, Autistic UK brings autistic people into focus groups, advisory panels, research and co-production work, campaigns and lobbies on autistic rights and access to health and social care, offers training and consultancy to organisations, and maintains an area-by-area map of support services for autistic adults across the UK.