Gaming platform for autistic young people in Bedford
County council partners with autistic-led charity Spectrum Gaming to help local young people make connections with others.
Spectrum Gaming works to support autistic young people by providing spaces where they can feel safe and accepted, and able to explore who they are in a nurturing environment with others who have similar lived experiences. It was established in 2020 and became a registered charity the following year.
Photo by Alvaro Reyes
Having already seen success with initiatives in Greater Manchester, the charity has now partnered with Bedford Borough Council to enable 100 young autistic people aged 10-18 to join its dedicated Discord and Minecraft servers as well as take part in special online events – all for free.
What’s more, the charity is offering a further 100 free places on its online autism acceptance course aimed at parents, carers and professionals who live or work in the borough. The course comprises six sessions that are partly delivered by autistic young people themselves. Among the topics covered are understanding autism, autism and trauma, supporting young people with meltdowns, and understanding anxiety and well-being. The course will be run four times over the next couple of years, with the first beginning this month. Recordings of sessions will also be made available.
In addition, a series of five-week courses will help young autistic people advocate for themselves.
Benjamin Wilson, General Manager of Spectrum Gaming, says: ‘Our goal is to help create a world where every autistic child knows that who they are is OK, and they can be themselves, whilst still developing meaningful relationships and achieving their personal goals. Our young people are at the forefront of our organisation. From the ideas of what we want to do, to implementation, they are at the heart of how we work. We’re an autistic-led organisation, for neurodivergent young people. Almost all of our workforce are neurodivergent in some way.’
A spokesperson for Bedford Borough Council adds: ‘Spectrum Gaming has run this scheme across other parts of the UK and we were delighted with its positive take on autism. We aim to support all of our young people and schemes like this offer a safe space for them to make friends, socialise and grow in confidence.’
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