Around 80% of autistic young people experience poor mental health and autistic children are 28 times more likely to have suicidal thoughts than their peers. Ambitious about Autism’s Let me be me project will empower autistic young people to manage their own mental health and to meet others like them. Over two years autistic young people will develop an online course, run by them, for them, aimed at those young people who are newly-diagnosed to ensure they get the right support at the right time. Young people will have access to a suite of online tools and resources that will also be freely available to healthcare professionals. During the lifetime of the project we will reach 5,000 autistic young people and build a model of support which will benefit 20,000 more every year.

“With the fantastic support of the Ballys’s Foundation, we have been enabled to set up this programme; directly providing support for autistic young people over two years and working towards leaving a legacy of change long into the future.”

Shelley Malone, Senior Trust Fundraising Manager, Ambitious about Autism