5th April 2022
Our new autism services directory
Joe – Human Resources Intern “Hello! My name is Joe Jerome, and I am the Human Resources intern. I chose to work at BeyondAutism, because I felt it would provide me with the support and experience needed to progress my career as a person with autism. I previously found it difficult to find the most suitable job for myself. Now I am confident that everything I am learning throughout the programme is a strength. Consequently, I believe that human resources could be a potential career path. My role involves assisting with interviews and tidying staff files, as well as conducting exit interviews, which I feel is especially good for my interpersonal skills.
For the directory, I search for services providing for people with autism in national authorities, so they can be linked to the charity’s website. This will serve as an information hub for everyone to access. Although the project work is straightforward, I find it very rewarding, as it raises awareness of the methods used in BeyondAutism’s schools and the organisation itself. Furthermore, many people I have contacted have expressed their appreciation of what we do and what we aim to achieve.”
Simone – Schools Intern “My name is Simone Ashton and I am 24 years old. I was diagnosed with autism and have been fortunate to attend specialist schools which has really helped me grow in confidence and ability. After college, my job coach from Bromley Well suggested I look at the BeyondAutism internship role and I really liked the idea of working somewhere that would understand me. I applied for the schools’ intern role and was very happy when I got the job. I enjoy working at the school for two and a half days a week.
On the other days I have been helping to create the autism services directory. I think the autism services directory is a very good idea. People who are looking for autism services and other resources can find information and many links to different websites in one place. Doing the research for the directory has taken a lot of time so far, but it has been interesting for me to see all the services that are out there, and I am glad that all of our efforts can help other people.”
Rob – Marketing and Communications Intern “I am the Marketing and Communications Intern. I chose to work at BeyondAutism because I love the values, crave creating content, enjoy connecting with colleagues and can really relate to service users.
A typical day as the right-hand man of Digital Marketing Manager, Dan Thurman, involves completing tasks set by him, other marketing team members or other departments. These tasks switch between researching, proofreading, auditing, writing articles, collating information for newsletters, formatting case studies, creating Canva designs, updating the ThankQ database and adding to the autism services directory. My day is interspersed with interacting with other interns and colleagues in person or online via Teams and Outlook. My time working in the team has been tremendous so far. It has been a steep learning curve and a giant step to carve out a career as a Marketeer.
I think the directory will be a fruitful source of information to help people find local and national services without depending on SEND local offer. Types of services include therapy, family, schools, social, residential, respite and more. Compiling the list has been challenging, but at the same time interesting, rewarding and reassuring.”
If you would like to find out more about our internship programme, you can read more here