• Autism is more common than you think
    Autism directly affects around 500,000 people in the UK – that's a staggering 1 in 100 of the population. If you include family and friends, there are around two million people whose lives are touched by autism every single day.

    Due to the numbers of people affected, many of your employees will either be directly affected themselves, or will know someone with autism, or families who are affected. We are the UK's leading charity for people affected by autism. Our ambition is to end the isolation of these two million people whose lives are touched by autism. No one else has our reach, our breadth of expertise or our potential to transform so many lives. Your support could make a huge difference.
  • Autism is often referred to as a 'hidden disability'
    People with autism get nothing like the level of support they need. Eighty-two percent of parents and carers say that their son or daughter needs some level of daily support to live independently; only 2% say they would need no support to do so. A staggering 83% of those caring for someone with autism care for over 50 hours a week.

    We have over 45 years' experience of living with autism every single day. We provide quality, value-for-money, autism-specific services tailored to the individual which can, quite literally, be life-changing for those families living day-to-day with autism.
  • There are around 107,000 children in the UK with autism
    Seventy percent of children with autism found it harder than average to make and keep friends and 42% of children with autism have no friends, compared to 1% of other children. Children with autism are also three times more likely to have mental health problems than other children.

    More than half of children with autism are not in the kind of school their parents believe would best support them and only 30% of parents of children in mainstream education are satisfied with the level of understanding of autism across the school. Sadly, over 40% of children with autism have been bullied at school.

    The legacy from the school experience goes beyond academic achievement. Confidence, social skills and aspirations for the future can all be set during this time. We believe that the earlier support is given, then the better the outcomes for people with autism. We therefore work with families, schools and local authorities to enable children with autism to get the most appropriate support for their needs. We also lobby and campaign to make changes at national level, ultimately changing the world for people with autism.
  • Autism doesn't just affect children. Children with autism grow up to be adults with autism
    Only 15% of adults with autism in the UK are in full-time paid employment. Fifty-one percent of the estimated 433,000 adults with autism in the UK have spent time with neither a job, nor access to benefits, with 10% of those having been in this position for a decade or more.
  • The aggregate cost of supporting people with autism in the UK is £27.5 billion annually
    Many people with autism have skills that can be hugely beneficial to employers, such as attention to detail and concentration. People with autism are often happy with structure and routine. There is therefore a huge pool of untapped talent which your support could release, enabling people who are desperate to work to come off benefits, gain independence and contribute to the UK economy.


We work across all age groups and abilities, with projects providing direct support to people and families affected by autism, who are often marginalised and isolated. Your support for the NAS can enable many more of the two million people affected by autism to have happy and meaningful lives.

To find out more, get in touch with our team. (See details right.)