As a specialist charity we believe it is hugely important that the autistic people in our care feel like they’re really part of their community.
As such, we encourage them to choose activities outside of their homes and services, where they can meet and interact with others as part of their day.
Our staff deliver person-centred care, focusing on the strengths and interests of each person they support. So, the destinations they suggest and the places the people they’re supporting choose are often not standard day trips for autistic adults.
Local amenities are the first port of call for people in our services. It’s important they get used to their immediate surroundings, and understand what shops, eateries, and other places are on their doorstep.
Frequent visits to places in their area can improve confidence and reduce any anxieties individuals may have when out at potentially busy supermarkets and bustling high streets.
Many of the people we support enjoy the treat of a visit to a café, a meal out, or a drink in a pub. There will be places in their locality where they can experience all of this and familiarity can bring with it assuredness, calm, and excitement at the next time they visit.
This is a great way of helping the people we support to feel part of the community where they live. But our support workers also enjoy taking them further afield, especially to a place that is of real interest to the individual.
Some people we support enjoy the excitement of visiting larger towns and cities, like nearby Chester or Liverpool. Chester Zoo is a popular excursion for autistic adults and the zoo has a range of accessible signage at many of its exhibits, created in collaboration with our charity with autistic people in mind.
Other popular destinations for the people we support include local museums and galleries, trips to regional football stadia – particularly Liverpool, Everton and Tranmere Rovers – and countryside or woodland strolls. Wirral, where most of our services are based, has a stunning and easily accessible coastline, which many of the people we support love to explore all year round.
But, sometimes it’s not the destination that’s of most importance, but rather the method of getting there. Many of the people we support love traveling by train. Perhaps it’s the smoothness of the journey, or the gentle rocking motion of the carriages, or just the magic of seeing the train snake into the station and whisk everybody off to pastures new? Whatever it is that appeals, a journey by train can be a magical day out in itself for some of the people we support.
