Hello! New here, hoping to learn :)

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Hi, I'm a NT youth worker in the north of England. I try to be an ally of neurodiversity in my life and in my work. I lead a mentoring programme for young people from all backgrounds, NT and ASC. I am about to try and get some funding for a small buddying project for children and young people with ASC, ages 10-25. I'd really like to ask a few questions about what people, especially in this age group, think about this idea and what they would use such a service for. I just wanted to introduce myself first and make sure this would be OK.

More than happy to provide my real life credentials as a professional to moderators if this would be useful

Welcome. I'm not in this age group but I do work a lot with this age group. Would the "buddies" be ASC or are they NT, and if NT how much do they know about ASC or are willing to learn?

Welcome to Wrong Planet.

Nice to meet you Blueberry.

I for one would like to see more services and options for anyone with ASD.

Therefore I bow to you and encourage you further in your endeavours.

Hi Aquafelix, that's a good question. To start with, the buddies will be NT. They'll have some training to give them the overview of themes such as communication and processing. They will also get our usual volunteer training around safeguarding, building rapport, boundaries etc. Ideally they'll have some lived experience of ASC, perhaps in their family life.

What is your line of work with this age group?

@Temeraire @Blazingstar thank you for the welcome and encouragement

welcome to wrong planet! Feel free to send any questions my way. I may be helpful as a teen