Autism Awareness Month Brings Community Together Across Guernsey

April was an incredibly positive and encouraging month for Autism Guernsey as islanders, businesses, schools and supporters came together to mark Autism Awareness Month and help promote greater understanding and inclusion across the community.

Throughout the month, our team enjoyed meeting members of the public at a number of pop-up events across the island, including outside Savills and at the Co-op. These events gave us a valuable opportunity to speak with families, answer questions, raise awareness of autism and share more about the work Autism Guernsey carries out to support autistic individuals and their families.

We were also delighted to visit Blanchelande College, where we continued important conversations around autism, understanding and inclusion. Engaging with young people and schools remains an important part of helping to create a more accepting and supportive community for everyone.

Another key focus throughout April was the continued growth of our corporate training programme. We were pleased to deliver training sessions to a number of organisations, helping businesses better understand autism and how to create more inclusive environments for employees, clients and colleagues.

The month also marked an exciting new step for the charity with the launch of our new podcast series, Let’s Talk About Autism. Hosted by Education Manager Martine Ellis, the podcast has been created to encourage open and honest conversations around autism while combining professional insight with lived experience. Future episodes will explore topics including autism in the workplace, parenting autistic children and young people transitioning into adulthood. 

Alongside this, Autism Guernsey was proud to announce a new partnership with the Committee for Health & Social Care to deliver parenting programme courses for local families. The initiative will help provide structured support, practical advice and evidence-based strategies for parents and carers of autistic children and young people.

The partnership reflects the increasing collaboration between the charity sector and Health & Social Care to strengthen autism support services across Guernsey and improve outcomes for families. It also demonstrates a shared commitment to ensuring parents feel supported, informed and empowered throughout their autism journey. 

We would also like to extend a huge congratulations and thank you to Itayi Chibcha, who completed this year’s marathon in support of Autism Guernsey and has raised more than £2,000 for the charity. His dedication, commitment and generosity are truly appreciated and will help us continue providing essential support and advocacy across the Bailiwick.

As Autism Awareness Month comes to a close, we would like to thank everyone who supported us throughout April.

Whether you attended an event, took part in training, donated, fundraised or simply helped start a conversation about autism, your support helps make a real difference.

Together, we are continuing to build a more understanding, inclusive and supportive community for autistic people and their families across Guernsey.