About us
Autism Forward is a new charity which is focused solely on helping autistic adults reach their full potential in life by funding specialist mentoring to enable them to prepare for, find and maintain employment and create a more inclusive workplace for all. Research by the National Autistic Society has shown that only 15% of autistic adults are in full-time employment and 9% in part-time employment. but the vast majority want to work. This lost employment has been estimated to cost the UK £12bn per year, but of course the waste of potential and harm done by the exclusion of these talented young people from the workplace cannot be quantified. Research and experience has shown that the best way to help autistic adults to make the transition from education to employment is through one-to-one specialist mentoring. We have identified experienced mentoring organisations across the UK and are raising funds to provide grants to individuals who could not otherwise afford this support. The cost of a full year of mentoring for one individual is around £1000 and this relatively small sum can completely transform the life of that individual by enabling them to be included and valued in the workplace and beyond.