This group is for autistic young women aged 18-35 years (16+ for Yoga Sessions) from the Surrey area who are interested in connecting with other local autistic women, are open to chatting about being autistic and meeting socially with a small peer group, can meet in person independently and are willing to help decide how the group should run.
What is the aim of the Group?
The aim of this Programme is to provide an accessible and safe space in which young autistic women can meet peers in a small group setting for mutual support, to share experiences of their challenges, information, support and explore opportunities to meet socially. The specific goals of the group are decided by each Group. The overall purpose of the group is to help autistic young women in the Surrey area to connect with peers, share interests, socialise, discuss being autistic, gain connections and confidence to maintain social contact outside of the Group setting.
What will happen in each Group and how long will the Sessions be?
The group will last 2 hours. This group will focus on interests and is choice-led (there is no pressure to do anything, including chat, if you don’t want to). It may include:
Arts/crafts activities
Sensory and wellbeing activities
Card and board games and a range of magazines and books, e.g., manga
Informal, facilitated chat
Who will be running the Group?
Our Young Women’s Programme Lead, Natalie Winters leads these Groups. She may be supported by another Appeer facilitator depending on the size of the group. Natalie is experienced in autism, women and in supporting vulnerable groups. If you would like more information, please emailclaire@appeer.org.uk
Autistic women can book a Session via their COACHA profile (tickets will be released and advertised at least 3 weeks before each Session). If you are new to Appeer and would like to take part in the Young Women's Group please emailclaire@appeer.org.ukwho will send you a link to an application form.
Prices are :£12 /£6 concessions (incl.of VAT) per Session. We can offer concessionary rates for those who may face financial barriers (e.g. in receipt of Pupil Premium, Universal Credit or a low income household).
As per our General Terms & Conditions, cancellations of at least 7 days prior to the event will be entitled to a full refund. We regret no other refunds can be given.
What if this Group is not suitable for me?
We are aware of two other women’s groups which you could consider accessing:
The NAS Resource Centre, Godalming, run a women’s group for autistic women of all ages. To access the group, contact the NAS Assist Service for more information on 01483 521743 orassist.surrey@nas.org.uk.
There are London Women’s Group Zoom-based and in-person (London Bridge area) meetups for autistic women facilitated on a voluntary basis by autism support professionals. Contactascwomensgroup@outlook.comfor more information.
The NAS Surrey Resource Centre also run two all-gender meetups for autistic adults: a Young Adults Group (focusing on socialising) and an all age group called Aspire, which runs a support group in several venues. Contact the NAS for more information:assist.surrey@nas.org.uk.
NB: We regret we are only able to offer places on our in-person Sessions to residents of Surrey and surrounding borders.
Please note, our current programmes have been designed to support those who are suspected or diagnosed as being autistic,
who may also have other neurodiverse conditions. In the future we hope to expand our activities to support those with
other neurodiverse conditions who aren't autistic too, e.g. ADHD.