As an autistic adult, it can be helpful to talk to other people who are autistic or who have lived experience of autism. There are several peer support programmes, where autistic people and parents and carers of autistic people offer support to other autistic people and families.

Some of these programmes are organised on a local community level and are delivered face-to-face, others can be accessed online.

Autism Central offers a peer education programme for parents and carers of autistic people. You can find out more about this, by contacting your local hub. If you are interested in becoming a peer educator yourself, hubs can also provide more information on this.

Ambitious about Autism runs a six-week peer support course for autistic young people between 16 and 25. You can read more about this on the Ambitious About Autism website.

Health Education England is currently also developing an autism peer support programme, where autistic people will be supporting other autistic people who are experiencing health difficulties.

You can find peer support services in your local area by accessing the National Autistic Society’s autism services directory.