East Lancashire
Children and Young People, Grants to charities
Tackling isolation for young people with autism
Earlier this year, we awarded a grant of £15,000 to Spectrum Gaming, a Manchester-based charity which is dedicated to combating isolation in autistic children and young people.
The autistic-led charity provides online and in-person gaming opportunities for young people aged 10-17. Around 80 per cent of the young people they support are persistently absent from school and 40 per cent have experienced long-term attendance difficulties. This can lead to struggles with mental health, extreme isolation, loneliness, and suicidal thoughts.
Spectrum Gaming hosts sessions daily from 10am-10pm which are operated by youth workers to provide a safe and supportive environment. The activities are decided by young people and can include museum trips, forest schools, cinemas and arcades. They also run private online groups for games such as Minecraft and Discord which are social communication platforms that primarily support voice and text chat, where young people can find others with shared interests like baking and crafting.
An autistic boy named S who was diagnosed with autism in 2017 first heard about Spectrum Gaming in 2021, when he had asked his parents if he could meet other autistic children. He had always found it easier to talk with people online, so his parents were keen to find a way to develop his confidence and communication skills in person.
S attended various sessions with Spectrum Gaming, which had an overwhelmingly positive impact on him.
His parents recently got in touch with the charity to share details of his progress.
S loves the meetups and the space they provide for him to be himself and not be judged by others. Of the football sessions, he said: “Everyone is accepted no matter their ability and it’s fun!”. Being part of Spectrum Gaming has helped S to boost his confidence and belief in himself. He’s now willing to try new things and is becoming more independent. He no longer gets upset if something is wrong and he has more perseverance and determination to keep going.
Spectrum Gaming gave S the chance to take part in interactive youth clubs, sports sessions, and forest schools. But he is not the only person to benefit from the initiative; his parents attended a six-week training course called ‘Autism Acceptance’, which has helped them to learn how best to support S.
The MCF grant over three years will benefit at least 900 children and young people.
