Post-Diagnosis Courses

Following the successful pilot of our post-diagnosis courses, funded by the Scottish Government, ARGH Scotland is now self-funding future provision. We remain committed to offering these courses free of charge to autistic people, even after government funding has ended. Donations to support this vital work are always gratefully received.

One course is available to autistic people (16+) who have received an autism diagnosis within the last five years. The other course is available to parents of autistic children (under 16) whose children have received their autism diagnosis within the last five years.

Course Outlines:

1. Welcome to the Autistic Community

This will be an online group for Autistic adults (16+) living in Scotland who have received a diagnosis within the last five years.

The course will have a maximum of 10 attendees with an autistic facilitator and co-facilitator. The course will consist of 8 weekly sessions. The next course will begin as soon as we have enough interest, please get in touch if you are interested.

This group will be run as an introduction to what it means to be autistic living in a society geared towards neurotypical people. It will include how to make connections to the autistic community, what neurodiversity means, what relevance neurodiversity has to autistic people and how to connect to services available across Scotland. We will also cover topics such as access to benefits, how and when to disclose, disability rights including Human Rights, the Equality Act 2010 and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The themes will be centred around autistic empowerment; we will discuss autistic history and the history of Autistic People’s Organisations including setting up an APO, what organisations already exist (other disability organisations including those run by disabled people themselves) and the cultural and political aspects of an autism diagnosis.

There will be time for general discussion and expert speakers will be invited to some sessions.

2. Autism – what does it mean for my child and family?

This group is for all parents of autistic children diagnosed within the last five years with a particular relevance for those with children diagnosed within the last year and living in Scotland

The course will consist of 10 weekly sessions for up to 10 attendees with one facilitator and one co-facilitator. The next course will begin as soon as we have enough interest, please get in touch if you are interested.

The materials for this group will be written, presented and facilitated in a way that will ensure that autistic parents feel supported and included. This will also be of great benefit to non-autistic parents in attendance (parents will not be expected to disclose status during sessions but this will be an optional question in evaluation). Sometimes parent courses are inaccessible to autistic or other neurodivergent attendees or can cause distress through using negative language and stereotypes; we wish to provide a truly inclusive course.

This is an opportunity for parents of autistic children to meet other parents and to learn about what autism means from the perspective of autistic people with direct lived experience, including some who are parents of autistic children themselves. The course will cover ideas for connecting to the autistic community, Neurodiversity, the history of Autistic People’s Organisations and practical daily living experiences: tips and workarounds that autistic people have found useful.

There will be time for general discussion and expert speakers will be invited to some sessions.

How do I register interest?

If you are interested in joining either of these two courses please fill in the form below and someone will contact you as soon as possible.

Alternatively you can send an initial email to info@arghighland.co.uk stating your geographical location (local council area), year of diagnosis and age or age of your child, as appropriate.