Back in 2017 The Community Foundation for Ireland supported The Shine Centre with €48,000 to develop an online portal for parents of children with autism www.autismaware.ie. The AutismAware.ie Project is an online informational portal about autism to inform and empower the parents, educators and carers of children with autism about the condition. The website launched in October 2018 and has already assisted 1,500 people with the potential to assist over 5,000 families.
Shine Ireland is a voluntary organisation and registered charity established by the parents of children with autism in 2001. At Shine they passionately believe that every person with autism has something unique to offer and must be given the opportunity to reach their full potential. The website will assist in the positive growth of awareness and understanding of people with autism and their families and help to brighten the future for children and people with autism.
Shine identified a need for this project through parent feedback from both their helpline and Family Support Service. The average waiting time for an autism assessment stands at one year and eight months through the state system and once services are accessed post diagnosis they were found to be sporadic and difficult to access. The portal is designed to reach parents with information on a practical level and give them the opportunity to enhance their understanding of autism and thereby contribute to their child’s development.
AutismAware.ie offers simple strategies and programmes in a wide range of areas to help parents to contribute positively to their child’s overall development. The site also has a strong focus on the importance of parent mental health as autism can present many challenges to a parent’s physical and mental wellbeing. The topic of positive mental health is addressed through a series on online life coaching and mindfulness podcasts and presentations. Many parents experience high levels of anxiety and stress and this focus on positive mental health increases coping and resilience and benefits benefit the entire family unit.
The Community Foundation for Ireland is committed to funding such strategic and impactful projects that have long-lasting benefits to social change you can read about the types of grants we fund here.