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Midlothian Council’s autism strategy ‘Two Trumpets’ was developed from the personal experience of local people, parents and practitioners who spoke about what makes a difference. A strategy is only as good as it’s actions, so we’ve gone back to the people directly affected by autism to shape what happens next.

We asked people to propose ideas to talk about autism from their point of view – and lots of ideas came back.

An employment adviser wants to make a difference in how welcome job seekers with autism feel in the centre she works in, so an employment group was set up with others involved in employment support.

We heard from parents who have changed bedrooms into sensory spaces, sound researchers who have worked with autistic people to create alternative relaxation music and a theatre company who use comedy to promote diversity. We organised a creative meeting to look at staging events to invite you to, and will be advertised here.

Midlothian Libraries are interested in how people can develop their passions using the library to develop and share interests. We’ve set up a lifelong learning group who are looking at learning in its widest sense, particularly for people who don’t access mainstream education.

There’s other groups meeting about autism training, socialising and sports and there are contact details on those pages (click on the blue links). Outcomes from the meetings are fed back to the autism strategy group which meets every two months.