Media Release 16 Feb 2021
2020 was a tough year for many, especially for young people on the autism spectrum.
As a national online platform, MyCareSpace is a free community service that connects people living with a disability with services and easy to understand information about the NDIS. One of the most commonly requested supports by parents and carers is for social activities for young people with autism.
“Every day our connections team receive calls from families looking for social and group activities for young people with autism,” says Nicole Gamerov, CEO and Founder of MyCareSpace.
Looking for a way to meet this need, MyCareSpace successfully applied for an NDIS Information, Linkages and Capacity Building (ILC) grant together with its consortium partners and has received $1 million to build their dream called “The A-List”.
Young people with autism are helping MyCareSpace to deliver the A-List together with the support of their consortium members: the Australian Federation of Disability Organisations (AFDO), Autism Community Network and Autism Aspergers Advocacy.
The A-List is a new federally-funded online hub that will give young people with autism, their families, and carers the ability to search for and book ‘autism-friendly’ activities from both mainstream and specialised organisations all around Australia, including peer support groups and community options.
The A-List will also include training videos and online resources that focus on overcoming social challenges, goal setting and decision making.
“Many young people with autism do not have friends outside of their families. The resulting social isolation has significant health and wellbeing consequences for these young people and their families. Even when they receive NDIS funding for social activities, many people find it difficult to find options that suit them. The A-List will address the shortage of social options as well as access to information,” says Nicole.
“Connecting is what we do, so it was a natural progression for us to find a way to solve this problem and connect young people with autism with social options,” says Bianca Shapiro, Chief Operating Officer and a partner at MyCareSpace. “It will also provide a marketplace for the providers of these services, and increase the options available. This is an ambitious project and we plan to make the A-List “the place” to search, choose, and book all types of social activities and groups for young people with autism. ”
While there are currently over 205,000 Australians diagnosed with autism (2015 ABS census), when we include their families and support networks, we conservatively estimate that more than 800,000 Australians are impacted by autism.
Jim Valavanis, Manager - Business Development & Engagement for the Australian Federation of Disability Organisations (AFDO) says: “We are extremely pleased to be involved in the A-List, which is such a worthwhile and beneficial project for the autism community. It is important to empower and motivate young people with autism and encourage them to become independent and determined adults that are involved equally in all aspects of social, economic, political and cultural life.”
For more Information about the A-List:
If you are a provider who might like to list your services on The A-List or someone looking for social options for children and young people with Autism, register your interest here:
Contact MyCareSpace:
Nicole Gamerov 0411 957 666
Bianca Shapiro 0414 617 711
[email protected]
