Autistic Community Cafés are events in arts centres, schools and community venues that offer family friendly social spaces for support, information sharing and networking. They have been developed and trialled by the Imagining Autism team as part of ‘Autism Re-Imagined: Creative Resources for Schools and Communities’ (funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council in 2018), working in consultation with the autistic community in the design and delivery. These are inspired by the hugely popular Dementia Cafés and the associated Imagination Café.
We are able to offer a bespoke café that is tailored to your needs based on our ‘menu’ of options and can be run by our team of trained creative facilitators (including autistic advocates and artists). This can either take the form of a whole day event for families or a twilight event after work (for multi-agency groups; teachers, parents, carers and health workers).
Booking an autistic café
Take a look at our Café Menu to create your own bespoke café and please contact us here if you are interested in booking one.
Running your own autistic café
We have also devised our Top Tips or setting up your own autistic café. This is free and we do ask that in return you provide us with some feedback and share your experiences. If you have any other top tips, please feel free to share them with us.
Testimonials
“I have a better understanding of how my daughter feels”
“I have a better understanding to help support students”
Participants from a café event,
Folkestone, as part of the Normal? Festival of the Brain
“there was an excellent element of social networking as part of the evening with many phone numbers being exchanged. That in itself is a good reason to create such opportunities”
Shona Powell OBE,
The Director of Lakeside Arts from a twilight event in Nottingham
“I am autistic and today gave me greater understanding of the problems faced by parents”
“As a parent I have learned to follow not lead”
“We had been using puppets instinctively but with no drama training, we now have more confidence and knowledge”
Participants from a café event in Birmingham