Castlebar wins award Autism Friendly Town Awards

CASTLEBAR has taken home an Inclusive Events Award at the 2024 Autism Friendly Town Awards.

The county town achieved several set targets set by AsIAm Autism Friendly Towns, including organising and running Autism-friendly events within the community, such as Mayo Autism Camp, Sensory Walks, a Resource Autism Fair and a Library Autism Awareness Week.

These successful initiatives earned the town the Inclusive Events Award at this year’s ceremony.

Held by AsIAm, Ireland’s Autism Charity, the award ceremony took place at the Aisling Hotel in Dublin, where Castlebar was acknowledged among five communities with Special Recognition Awards.

Speaking about the town’s win, John Page, Chairperson of Castlebar Autism Friendly Town Committee said: “Castlebar has made significant strides this year when it comes to making Mayo more inclusive for our Autistic community and we’re committed to continuing this journey in the years to come.”

The AsIAm Autism Friendly Town Awards is an annual event in which communities across Ireland are awarded for following a series of principles aimed at fostering Autism inclusion and empowerment in local communities.

Adam Harris, CEO AsIAm, added: “The new principles adopted by each of our winning towns will improve access for Autistic people in day-to-day life, create supporting and accepting environments within the community and promote local business and tourism.”

AsIAm Autism Friendly Town Awards criteria has been created in response to the barriers to inclusion faced by Autistic individuals in their local community, such as communication, predictability and control, sensory processing, and judgement.