Become an advocate

Who this page is for

There is something here whatever age you are, and the routes in are different depending on where you are.

Under 18: write for us, join the Youth Advisory Board, share your art or your writing, help shape our training
18 to 25: all of the above, and you can also volunteer with our groups, including helping to start a brand new one
Over 25: our volunteering and group facilitation routes are open to you too

Youth voice is not a box we tick

A lot of organisations say they listen to young people. Rather fewer let young people write the blog, choose the campaign, or tell the charity it has got something wrong.

Autistic Girls Network is neurodivergent-led at every level, and that includes the young people we exist for. Our Youth Advisory Board shapes what we say and what we build, and our young advocates write for us in their own words, without an adult smoothing the edges off first.

Written by our young people

These are not case studies written about young people. They are pieces written by them.

Written for our young people

We also have content designed to be read by neurodivergent young people, by adults who have experience of being neurodivergent people. They can help with strategies or ideas that have worked for them, or by talking about careers which have been a good fit.

What being an advocate can look like

There is no single shape to this, and no minimum commitment. Some of our advocates do one thing once. Others have been with us for years.

Apply to join the Youth Advisory Board when we have spaces, and help decide what AGN says and builds
Write a blog, in your own words, about anything you want other autistic young people to know
Share your art, design, photography or writing
Help shape a training session for the teachers and clinicians who will meet the next girl like you
Speak, if speaking is something you want to do. Nobody has to
Review our resources and tell us where we have got it wrong

What it does

We measured this. Read our volunteering and youth voice impact case study for what involvement actually changed for the young people who took part.

Among the girls in our face-to-face groups, 96 per cent reported feeling happier, 94 per cent felt more positive about being autistic, and 92 per cent said they understood themselves better. We measure our outcomes using The Good Childhood Index, developed by The Children’s Society.

If you are 18 or over: help run a group

Our face to face groups are run by volunteers, and the volunteers our girls respond to most are the ones who were them, not that long ago. If you are 18 or over and you grew up autistic and largely unsupported, you are exactly who a fourteen-year-old in one of our groups needs to meet. You do not need a qualification, a teaching background, or any experience of running anything.

You would not be doing it alone. Groups run with a lead facilitator and a team, there is training, and you decide how much you take on.

Coming to a group as a member first is a completely legitimate way in, and quite a few of our volunteers started there.

For adults who want to help in other ways

If you are an adult rather than a young person, there are other routes in, including volunteering, facilitating a group in your area, and fundraising.

In Scotland: help us start something from scratch

We are building new groups in Scotland right now, and starting a group is a different opportunity from joining one. You would be helping to shape what it is, where it meets and how it feels, rather than stepping into something already running.

For an autistic 18 to 25 year old in Scotland who has spent years being told what would be good for them, being one of the people deciding is not a small thing.

There are two ways to be involved. Lead group facilitator roles are paid freelance positions, and we advertise those as they come up. Volunteer roles support the group alongside the lead. We are recruiting for both.

Freelance lead group facilitators needed in Scotland
Volunteer with AGN
Current vacancies

Everyone working with our young people goes through PVG in Scotland, and we will take you through it. It is a normal part of the process and not something to worry about.