APPLICATIONS ARE NOW CLOSED OWING TO HUGE DEMAND

Post-Diagnostic Support Mentoring

We’re delighted to now be able to offer a neuro-affirmative mentoring service for those that have recently been diagnosed/recognised as autistic.

Mentoring is relational support for mental wellness, not academic tutoring. A mentor who shares lived experience offers a trusted relationship, a safe space to process a diagnosis, and practical, individual help to manage anxiety and overwhelm and to grow in confidence and self-advocacy.

This service is aimed at those aged 13-25. The sessions will create a safe space for the mentees to explore their feelings re: being diagnosed and their future hopes. It will move away from a pathologising medical model of autism that does not present a positive future for young people. We want mentees to have a renewed sense of self-compassion and self-esteem after being mentored. The mentor will support the young person’s journey by being able to answer any questions about their diagnosis and what it means to be autistic including exploring co-occurrences such as with ADHD and Alexithymia. The sessions will allow the mentees to learn about their mentor’s experiences of being neuro-divergent and build an important sense of community.

There are limited funded places for this service and we expect them to fill quickly.

Details are as follows:

Open to girls, women and non-binary young people aged 13-25 living in England or Wales who have a recent medical or self diagnosis of autism
Sessions will be virtual over Zoom (there will be no requirement to have the camera turned on or to speak if the young person would prefer to type in the chat, and mentors can turn off their cameras if preferred and just share screens.)
There will be 6 sessions of one hour each for the mentee.
All of our mentors are neurodivergent themselves and will bring their own relatable experience of being diagnosed as an adult to the sessions.
Each mentor is DBS-checked, has had safeguarding training and has previous experience of mentoring or working with autistic young people.

As this service is virtual, while we will make every effort to accommodate preferences during the video call, it won’t work if the young person themselves feels unable to access virtual meetings, so please only apply if your young person is relatively comfortable with virtual services and will be happy to speak/type during sessions.

The mentor programme has been specifically designed by an autistic autism specialist teacher and will focus on pertinent themes such as mental health, it will also be personalised according to the mentee’s circumstances and their age. The mentor process will ensure mentees gain an appreciation of their own unique strengths and will be better able to self-advocate. Through the service we aim to save and change lives creating healthy dignified futures for young autistic people.

Before applying please check that you or your child is eligible on the criteria above and read our Admissions Policy along with our Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Policy.

To apply for the service, please complete the form

Those who are unsuccessful in obtaining one of our limited number of funded places will be put on a waiting list while we pursue more funding.

This service has been made possible thanks to funding from the Boshier Grant Scheme, The Access Foundation and The John Coates Charitable Trust

APPLICATIONS ARE NOW CLOSED OWING TO HUGE DEMAND

Testimonials

4. November, 2025.

A had twelve mentoring sessions with Olivia earlier this year and they’ve been the best help and support she’s ever had.

26. November, 2024.

Just a quick email to say a MASSIVE THANK YOU for the post diagnosis mentoring programme! A had her first session with Olivia this evening and the difference already is astounding! I honestly can't thank you enough for providing her with this opportunity.

R's mum

13. November, 2024.

The changes I have noticed in R include - significantly increased self-confidence and is self-advocating much more. An understanding of her diagnosis and her rights on what is available to her to support her with her day today living. Feeling more comfortable in herself and being proud of being unique and autistic, recognising her strengths as well as her areas of need and is self-regulating much more. Her self-esteem has rocketed. It really has been life changing for her. Heather, you have been fantastic, and I can't thank you enough.

13. November, 2024.

Mentoring with Heather has helped me to learn about the more specific areas of autism, more so as it is from someone who has experience and knowledge. I found that the mentoring was at a good pace and allowed me to take in the information well. I am more more self aware as to why I might be experiencing certain things - feelings, emotions and overwhelm/burnout, and I understand Neurodivergence more

25. October, 2024.

M's mentoring sessions with Alison have been really beneficial in helping her to understand and accept herself more. I think the fact that her mentor is Autistic too really helped - M felt seen and heard, sharing experiences that were immediately understood. Importantly, M didn't mask in her sessions with Alison. This meant that they could think about different strategies for M and us to try, without M feeling like she was trying to be "fixed". This is the support we've been looking for for M since she was diagnosed almost 2 years ago, and we are very grateful for Alison's time and the support of the Autistic Girls Network. Thank you. Parent of M

25. October, 2024.

Mentoring has helped me realise a lot about my Autism and understand why those things are normal for Autistic people, especially executive function things. It means I'm not denying those things and accepting them instead. M

15. October, 2024.

My daughter is currently having mentoring with Alison - which she is hugely appreciating! Having space to talk to someone who's autistic about Autism is proving really, really valuable.

15. October, 2024.

A has thoroughly enjoyed her sessions with Heather and learnt so much during this time. It has given her the opportunity to talk openly about her feelings and understand why she feels the way she does in certain situations. It has also helped her recognise and accept some of her behaviours which has given her more confidence. We would thoroughly recommend to anyone who is given the chance to take part in the mentoring program to do so.

15. October, 2024.

K found it difficult to fully engage in the mentoring sessions due to anxiety. The mentor Olivia was great at adapting the sessions to take this into account. I was also able to attend and act as a voice for K and to help her to stick with it. Olivia used Jamboard really effectively to engage K in the sessions. This allowed K to go at her own pace and to respond in writing, verbally or through drawings. Olivia talked about her own experiences which was very helpful and made her relatable to K. Despite K not being in a position to fully engage in the process, this has been a most valuable experience and one we would wholeheartedly recommend to others.

15. October, 2024.

My daughter is still very early in her autism acceptance journey and merely nodding an answer, gesturing or writing odd words, all off camera and silently, was her part in the ‘conversations’. However, with this I became thrilled. This was the most engaged my child had been with anything during her 9+ months of autistic burnout and inability to access school. Olivia’s gentle, empathetic approach enabled my daughter to hear from someone else’s lived experience a possible way of navigating difficult situations/environments. The ability to access the sessions at her own pace enabled her to feel safe enough that by the last session she was able to come partially on camera, co-produce a slide about her special interest and discuss its content. The ability to share the thing which brings her joy with someone who was genuinely interested brought her a lot of happiness. An obvious answer about what else could be done is that it could be for longer to enable the child and mentor to build up even more of a relationship and work on a deeper level. I also wonder if doing the ‘about me’ work earlier rather than at the end would have enabled a more two way communication sooner, however, this is with hind sight and of course may not have worked, indeed, my daughter may not have felt able to contribute at all earlier in the sessions. However, I am so appreciative that my child was able to access this service as there is nothing else of is kind available to us, she was discharged from CAMHS for not engaging and there is nothing else available. We have been left to find our own way through this by our LEA. The Autistic Girls Network, the Mentoring, Olivia and Cathy have been a huge source of support, information and Community and I cannot thank you all enough. I wish you all the very best with everything and please know, you are making an enormous difference.

15. October, 2024.

Being able to discuss aspects of neurodivergence, guides/pictures/info graphs for aspects of executive functioning, being able to talk with a fellow AuDHDer, have all been very helpful. I now have a better understanding of aspects of executive functioning, my triggers/comforts, more understanding of neurodivergence, access to resources on this jamboard. If I could change anything I’d like more sessions, more time to discuss.

15. October, 2024.

Thank you so much for the mentoring. I think it’s so important to have something like this which is affirming and validating, as opposed to the ‘deficits’ approach of diagnosis. This feels like the beginning of the journey but having suggestions like reasonable adjustments to ask for at school and energy accounting has been really useful and practical-and not something that I have been able to access elsewhere.

15. October, 2024.

I can now understand and identify more of the problems, accept them and deal with them. Talking it through with someone who is autistic, on a level you understand it, is much more validating. Everything I’ve done so far has been with people who aren’t autistic and they have a list of traits and can see what it is but they don’t know how it feels.

15. October, 2024.

Just a quick note to say thanks so much for the mentoring sessions – they were so helpful and great for starting more of a conversation with B around autism. You have been so kind and patient, thoughtful and knowledgeable – we really appreciate you.

15. October, 2024.

I think this mentoring has been exactly what our daughter needs