Places worth visiting, articles worth reading, and resources you can use today, shared by families and by our clinical team.
Some of the hardest parts of family life are the ordinary ones. Finding a dentist who will take the time. A cafe where a difficult moment is met with kindness rather than stares. A museum that is genuinely interesting and not simply quiet. This page brings together two things: places that autistic people and their families have found genuinely work, and the articles, guides and resources our clinical team recommends.
Entries here cover the things that actually decide whether a visit works: noise, lighting, queues, whether the staff understood, and whether they would go again. Each one comes from an autistic person or from someone in their family.
Every entry is read and approved by Autism Partnership before it appears here.
If somewhere got it right, share it and we will pass it on. A few lines is plenty. We read everything before anything appears on this page, and we will never publish your name.
A growing library, drawn from our own clinical team and from sources we trust. Everything here is chosen because it is useful in practice, not because it is well known.
Written by the people who deliver the work.
Coming soon
Selected reading from organisations we rate, each with a line on why it is useful.
Coming soon
Practical things you can print and use today, such as visual timetables and one-page profiles.
Coming soon
Talks, webinars and podcast episodes worth your time.
Coming soon
Some of this is quietly available everywhere and not well advertised. None of it is run by us, and none of it costs anything to ask about.
Odeon, Cineworld, Vue, Showcase, Picturehouse and The Light all run them. The lights stay low rather than going out, the sound is turned down, the adverts and trailers are skipped, and nobody minds if you move around, make noise or leave part way through.
Vue runs one on the last Sunday of the month at most sites, Showcase at least monthly. Dates are on each cinema own listings.
A lanyard, badge or wristband with a sunflower on it. Wearing one is a quiet way of telling staff that someone has a disability they cannot see, and may need more time or a bit of help. It is not a fast pass and it does not entitle you to skip a queue.
Many airports, supermarkets and rail operators hand them out free at a customer service desk.
Several supermarkets set aside an hour a week when the lights are dimmed, the music and tannoy go off and the checkout beeps are turned down. It makes a real difference if a weekly shop is usually the hard part of the week.
The day and time vary by chain and by individual store, and the lists online go out of date quickly.
Ask at the customer service desk in your own branch.
Bigger than a standard accessible toilet, with a height-adjustable adult changing bench, a hoist and room for two carers. If a standard accessible toilet does not work for your family, these are the ones to look for.
There are more than two and a half thousand registered across the UK.
The National Autistic Society runs the Neuroinclusive Access Award, until recently called the Autism Friendly Award. Venues that hold it have been assessed on their environment and on how their staff respond, rather than simply saying they are welcoming.
There is no public list of venues, so the useful thing is to ask a venue directly whether it holds the award.
Whatever the place, four questions get you most of the way there. When is it quietest? Can we wait outside or in the car rather than in the waiting room? Can you tell us what will happen first? Is there somewhere to step out to if we need a minute?
Most places will answer honestly, and the answer tells you as much as the words do.
None of the places, organisations or schemes on this page are connected to Autism Partnership. They are shared by our community, and by our clinical team, because people have found them useful. We do not run them, we are not paid to mention them, and we cannot promise what any particular visit will be like. If something here is out of date, or no longer works the way it is described, please tell us and we will put it right.
If you have found a place that got it right, share it. A few lines on what made the difference is enough, and it may save another family a difficult afternoon.
New to Autism Partnership? We work with autistic children, young people and adults, with parents, and with schools, from our centres in Leeds and London. See what we offer, or book a free 30-minute consultation with one of our Clinical Directors.