Appeer Community Interest Company
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Mission Statement
Appeer is an experience-led community interest company aiming to benefit girls and women with an Autism Spectrum Condition (ASC) and other neurodiverse conditions, and those around them, in Surrey and beyond. Many neurodiverse females are socially isolated and struggle with areas such as self-esteem, relationships, social communication and school/work pressures. Appeer employs 'A Positive PEER Approach' to provide opportunities for our community to enjoy interests, have fun, receive support and connect through social interest groups, talks and resources. All our work is underpinned by 6 social, emotional, wellbeing and life/work skills strands. Our key aims are: 1. To help support the personal, social, emotional, physical and mental health of girls and women with autistic spectrum condition and other neurodiverse conditions as well to help develop their work and life skills. 2. To help girls and women with autistic spectrum condition and other neurodiverse conditions gain group membership and connect with peers who they may share some similarities and experiences with. 3. To help parents/carers and families access and share experiences, resources and advice with and from other parents/carers and families as well as from neurodiverse girls and women and other professionals 4. To help professionals access and share experiences, resources and advice with and from parents/carers, neurodiverse girls and women and other professionals.
About This Cause
APPEER Community Interest Company (not for profit, limited by guarantee) was set up in 2019 to benefit girls and women with an Autism Spectrum Condition (ASC) and other neurodiverse (ND) conditions such as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), and those around them, including their families and professionals, in Surrey and beyond. Appeer’s activities are desperately needed, as there is a critical lack of support and understanding available for autistic and ND girls and women and their families. More than 1 in 100 people in the UK are thought to be autistic (National Autistic Society (NAS)), but it is only just coming to light that there are many more females than was previously thought, because of a historic focus on boys (Hendrickx, 2015). Research is increasingly uncovering the unique impact of ND conditions on females, who struggle with friendships and relationships, social communication and expectations, puberty and their changing bodies, sensory challenges, school work, pressures and transitions, especially in schools that may not understand and facilitate their needs. Whilst many girls mask their difficulties for a time, common underlying feelings of isolation, lack of worth, anxiety and depression can be hugely damaging, and parents/carers have difficulty accessing support (Atwood, 2006). A main concern is a feeling of ‘not fitting in’, especially at formative ages when a peer group is so important. Anxiety and a lack of support keeps many girls and young women out of school, with devastating long-term effects (NAS, 2020), which is why early action and support for ND peer connections is so important. To help meet these critical needs, Appeer provide online and on-site activities including, but not limited to: 1. Regular social interest groups for neurodiverse girls and young women and their parents/carers, in Woking, Surrey, based on our 6 strands and building on the girls' hobbies and interests. During COVID-19 we host online girls’ groups fortnightly, for the girls to share interests, connect, develop social skills and fun. 2. Talks and events for autistic and neurodiverse women, staff and parents/carers of autistic and neurodiverse girls. These events often involve female speakers and facilitators who are neurodiverse themselves. During COVID-19 these are online, and parent/carers have found them invaluable during this stressful time. 3. The development of online and offline resources and programmes for, and by, girls and women with Autism Spectrum Condition (ASC) and other neurodiverse conditions. Work in progress includes a new peer support group for young adult autistic women, an annotated Resource Centre, and workshops for autistic teen girls. Appeer’s 4 directors are all parents of autistic and ND girls and young women, with diverse, extensive personal and professional experience in this field, including in mainstream and specialist teaching, family support, mentoring for autistic adults, finance and educational resource consultancy. Two have voluntarily coordinated support for The National Autistic Society Surrey Branch for some years, hosting coffee mornings and events for up to 200 families of autistic girls in the Surrey area. Hearing the experience of these families, their difficulty finding support and understanding, and the lack of appropriate services led the directors to found Appeer, committed to planning and delivering activities effectively and efficiently to help. We work collaboratively with many autistic and ND women and girls and a range of professionals in order to do so. Our advisory team includes an extremely experienced educational psychologist with a neuropsychology specialism, an autism educational specialist who has led an autism provision, and autism researchers at The Department of Psychology at UCL. We are committed to supporting our community as much as we can, but the current public health crisis, COVID-19, has greatly impacted on our revenue, and many families and autistic and neurodiverse girls' needs are greater than ever. We would be grateful of any support offered. More information about our activities and plans can be found on our website at: www.appeer.org.uk.