Shortlisted for National Awards
In the National Autistic Society’s Autism Professional Awards, our Right Click programme has been shortlisted in theInnovative Family Support category and the cast of The Tree and the Abbey have been shortlisted in the category of Most Creative Community Project. The annual ceremony, which first took place in 2013, recognises and rewards services and professionals that lead the way in innovative autism practice and make a real difference to the lives of people with autism in the UK.
Right Click is our online support programme for parents and carers. The programme consists primarily of bespoke videos that capture the wealth of knowledge and experience of our Autism Support Team as well as external autism professionals. For those seeking information and impartial advice the internet can be overwhelming, and even a source of misinformation. Right Click is a reliable resource that enables parents to develop a sound, broad understanding of autism which can be adapted to the needs of their own family.
Speaking about the news, Charlene Tait, Director of Development said: "We are honoured to have been shortlisted in the Autism Professionals Awards 2014. Feedback for our Right Click programme from families and autism professionals has been overwhelmingly positive. With almost two hundred families taking part in the programme since our official launch in January 2013, and almost fifty signed up for our next programme, the positive impact on the lives of people with autism and their families can only continue to grow.”
The twenty-strong cast of The Tree and the Abbey, who are all supported in Fife have been nominated in the Most Creative Community Project category. The play is thought to be the first performed at the Fringe where the majority of the cast have autism. Written and directed by Autism Practitioner, Scott Daly, the drama tells the social history of Fife narrated by a tree which stands in the grounds of Dunfermline Abbey. It features a range of characters from the community and revitalises a number of tragic and enriching events from Fife’s history.
Autism Practitioner Scott Daly said: "On behalf of the cast, I would like to say that we are honoured to have been shortlisted. Performing The Tree and the Abbey at the Festival required a considerable amount of passion, commitment, creativity and hard work from staff and service users alike. It was an ambitious and creative community project which has provided huge benefits to service users in Fife through building confidence, social skills and opportunities for self expression.
Our efforts to enable individuals with autism to lead full and enriched lives have also been recognised in the LaingBuisson’s Independent Specialist Care Awards. In addition to Right Click being shortlisted for Innovation, our Central Area Services Outreach Team was shortlisted in the category of Personalisation. The team have taken personalised support to a new level by introducing an innovative staff profiling tool and involving service users in staffing decisions. Our Practitioner Research programme, led by Joseph Long, our Researcher in Residence was also shortlisted for Training and Dissemination of Good Practice. This highly innovative programme has seen staff from across our organisation come together to be trained on how to gather evidence to inform practice. The qualitative social research methods that the Practitioner Researchers are using will help us to learn about the daily life experiences of people with autism, their families and support staff.
There was further good news for Joseph Long’s Practitioner Researcher programme which was highly commended in theCare Knowledge Innovative Workforce Development Award, winning cash prize of £250.
Congratulations to all those involved!
