Our Vision  

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Our vision is to develop people's understanding and knowledge of autism, leading to unconditional acceptance and integration in our community.

 

We support this vision by encouraging individuals and businesses in our locality to become autism friendly through training events which are helping to promote understanding and knowledge, leading to acceptance of autism and individuals being valued.

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Our group has recently created a website and a 'Autistic Spectrum Condition Information Guide' to support families after diagnosis, offering advice and signposts to services.

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We host many events throughout the year to promote awareness and to raise funds.  These funds are used in a variety of ways.  For instance our group has helped to finance the new Support Hubs at Millom School and St James School.  We have also bought a selection of expensive pieces of equipment such as weighted blankets, that families can trial before they buy.  We always try to respond to the community's current requirements with our fundraising.

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We provide activities in school holidays which have become important social events for families.  Previous activities include Equine Therapy, Messy Play and Animal Handling.

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Our parent/carer support group meets regularly and our closed facebook page is available for more immediate support.  We also maintain an open facebook page for our wider community to inform and promote

SHINE for Autism and its activities.

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Increasingly we are trying to provide services for families which do not exist in our area and our aim is to make these services available and free or low cost where we can.

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As a group our collective experience can help with advice and support on a large range of issues from the practical to the emotional and has the knowledge to signpost to other services and agencies.

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Our final goal is the creation of an Autism Centre which would support independent living for adults with autism, enabling them to live in their own community near to their families.  The Centre would also include family support, respite care, day care and activities, supported employment, space for sensory provision, specialists, therapists and counselling.

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The vision for our community is far reaching and extensive but with drive and passion we will achieve our goal.  We have made a good start with little funding and our group has formed into a supportive, strong and determined unit.

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Together we can support, help, include, nurture and educate both our autistic community and the larger community of Millom and its outlying areas.