National Autistic Society
British charity for autistic people
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The National Autistic Society is a charity for autistic people and their families in the United Kingdom. Since 1962, the National Autistic Society has been providing support, guidance and advice, as well as campaigning for improved rights, services and opportunities to help create a society that works for autistic people.
 | |
| Founded | 23 January 1962 |
|---|---|
| Founder | Group of London-based parents |
| Type | Registered charity |
| Focus | Supporting the rights and interests of all autistic people |
| Location |
|
Region served | United Kingdom |
| Members | 20,000[1] (2020–present) |
| Revenue | £88 million[citation needed] (2012–13) |
| Employees | 3,630[citation needed] |
| Website | www |
The National Autistic Society is funded through UK government grants and voluntary contributions. The Chief Executive as of 2026 is Caroline Stevens. She took over from Mark Lever in 2019, after being Chief Executive at Kids for six years.[2]
History
The organisation was founded on 23 January 1962 as the Society for Psychotic Children by parents of autistic children living in the area, with the assistance of a member from the Spastics Society (later Scope).[3][4] Its origins were as a self-help group involving both parents and professionals.[5] It was renamed the Society for Autistic Children later that year,[6][7] the National Society for Autistic Children in 1966, and the National Autistic Society in 1975.[4]
In 1963, Gerald Gasson, a parent and member of the executive committee, designed the primary symbol for autism: a puzzle piece with a picture of a crying child inside of it, which was first used as logo by the NAS itself.[8][9][10] In 1965, The Society School for Autistic Children was established, later renamed as the Sybil Elgar School after their first principal.[11] It was described as "the first of its kind in the UK, and, it is thought, the world", and quickly became an example for how autistic people should be taught, and influenced the TEACCH methods in the US.[4]
Activities
The National Autistic society is a member of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Autism.[12] It is also a founding member of Autism-Europe.
Organisation
Over 3,000 people work for the National Autistic Society in schools and services as well as training, fundraising, policy and campaigns teams. Its president is Jane Asher and the patron is the Duchess of Edinburgh.[13]
List of National Autistic Society schools and facilities
Present schools and facilities
The National Autistic Society manages a number of schools in the United Kingdom:
| Name of NAS School | Location(s) | County | Year first opened | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Helen Allison School | Gravesend (originally) followed by near Meopham | Kent | 1968 | Weekly & Termly boarding and Day learning school for pupils/students aged between 4 and 22 years old, which opened 3 years after Sybil Elgar School opened.[14] |
| Radlett Lodge School | Hatfield (on temporary occasions) and in (mainly) Radlett | Hertfordshire | 1974 | Weekly boarding and Day learning school for pupils/students aged between 4 and 22 years old, which opened on the same year as Somerset Court.[15] |
| Robert Ogden School | Thurnscoe near Rotherham | Yorkshire | 1976 | Weekly & Termly boarding and Day learning school for pupils/students aged between 5 and 19 years old, which opened 2 years after Radlett Lodge School and Somerset Court opened and became the first and only NAS school in the North of England before Church Lawton School.[16][17][18] |
| Sybil Elgar School | Southall (mainly), Ealing (since weekly boarding facilities first opened) and Acton (since sixth form classes were relocated) | Middlesex, West London | 1965 | Weekly boarding and Day learning school for pupils/students aged between 4 and 22 years old, which took 3 years to construct after the NAS was founded.[19] |
The National Autistic Society also runs services for autistic adults.
Past schools and facilities
The National Autistic Society had also managed 3 former schools in the United Kingdom that no longer existed since the changes of the NAS logos.
| Name of NAS School | Location(s) | County | Year first opened | Year last closed | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anderson School | Somewhere between Bath and Bristol followed by Chigwell | Greater Bristol followed by Essex | 2012 | 2020 | Independence school for pupils/students aged between 11 and 19 years old which opened on the NAS's 50th Anniversary, became the second NAS school to open in the West Country after Broomhayes School, had the longest relocation and had closed down at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic having only been opened for 8 years. |
| Broomhayes School | Westward Ho! followed by Somewhere between Great Torrington and Kingsley near Bideford | Devon | 1985 | 2015 | Weekly & Termly boarding and Day learning school for pupils/students aged between 11 and 22 years old which was the first and only NAS school in the West Country before Anderson School and had closed down for putting Kingsley House up for sale when the school got close to its 30th anniversary. |
| Daldorch House School | Mauchline | Ayrshire | 1998 | 2020 | Weekly & Termly boarding and Day learning school for pupils/students aged between 5 and 22 years old which was the only NAS school in Scotland and had closed down at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic having been opened for 22 years. |
Liberty Academy Trust schools and former NAS facilities
Academies first opened by National Autistic Society in the United Kingdom and have then left the National Autistic Society after 10 years or under, and since between 2022 and 2023 are now under the Liberty Academy Trust.
| Name of former NAS and now LAT School |
Location(s) | County | Year first opened | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Church Lawton School | Church Lawton | Staffordshire/Cheshire boarder | 2015 | LAT School first opened by the NAS following the closure of Broomhayes School. |
| Thames Valley School | Reading | Berkshire | 2013 | LAT School first opened by the NAS following the year of its 50th anniversary. |
| Vanguard School | Lambeth | Southeast London | 2020 | LAT School first opened by the NAS following the introduction of a new NAS logo from 2018. |
