Westport starts on road to becoming an autism-friendly town

WESTPORT has taken steps to become a more welcoming place for people with autism, following the formation of Westport Autism Friendly Town. 

Local groups, organisations and businesses will be supported to provide an environment that considers the needs of locals and visitors with autism as part of the Autism Friendly Communities initiative.

The initiative from AsIAm – Ireland’s Autism Charity - has been successfully implemented in over twenty towns nationwide, including Castlebar and Balla.

“We’re a local network of families and parents who have either children or family members or who know people who have autism but have maybe felt a little bit isolated in our community here in Westport,” Maura Kiely, Chairperson of Westport Autism Friendly Town told The Mayo News.

“We’re seeing lots of other things that the other different communities are doing in their own communities and we thought ‘They are phenomenal’, they can be life-changing for families and autistic people so we said we would do something about that here in Westport.”

The overall goal of the initiative is to ensure support and inclusion for autistic individuals and ensure they have full access to goods and services in Westport.

Twenty-five people attended the first meeting of Westport Autism Friendly Town while there were nine apologies.

A parent support group in the local area for parents of children with autism is currently being explored.

The group has almost completed a suite of educational resources for the Mayo region detailing financial educational resources available to parents of children with autism.

“All the assessments that you have to go through, there is so much administration. It’s a very overwhelming time so that will be a really useful, practical piece for parents as well,” said Ms Kiely.

Given the significant increase in autism diagnoses over the past number of years, the group hopes that their efforts will be welcomed by the community at large. 

The programme aims to build on initiatives that are already in place in Westport, as well as kick-starting a three-year town plan.

The next phase of work for the group will be to develop and launch a town plan which will map out how this will be achieved over the coming three years.

This will include training for champion organisations, autism-friendly events, and awareness campaigns to inform the wider public about autism acceptance and accessibility locally.

The launch of the town will be attended by founder of AsIAm, Adam Harris, who is a brother of Taoiseach Simon Harris. 

For more information on this initiative, becoming a champion business, or to attend the next group meeting, email: westportautismfriendlytown@hotmail.com. You can also receive updates by following Westport Autism Friendly Town on Facebook and Instagram.