Outcomes

We have developed the most comprehensive camp program in Australia, for families of Autistic young people. Our programs are tried-and-tested, and the results speak for themselves. Our existing evaluation data shows families experience:

- improved skills/knowledge (96%)
- increased motivation and confidence (93%)
- had a boost to self-esteem, mental and physical health and resilience (91%)
- reduced social isolation and enhanced social networks (86%)
- achieved improved capacity and resilience in emotional and behavioural functioning (88%)

 These are the outcomes we are seeing in the short and medium term, and expect to see in the long term for families attending our camp programs.

Short Term Outcomes

• Participants experience a ‘safe’ environment alongside other Autistic families and supported by specialised team members. They share stories and experiences with people who have lived experience of Autism or are living within an Autistic family.
• Participants feel a sense of relief from social isolation and form new valuable and reliable social connections with people from their Autistic community.
• Participants are able to ‘just be’ while at camp. The neuro-normative expectations of day-to-day mainstream life are put to one side, and they are encouraged to celebrate their Autistic identity and Autistic culture. Participants engage with positive role models and experience inclusion, acceptance and autonomy.
• Participants are engaged in therapies, education, skills development and peer-to-peer support as part of the program. They benefit from increased knowledge, understanding and training.
• Participants in the programs build capacity in confidence, self-reliance, independence and self-advocacy skills.

Medium Term Outcomes

• Participants form long and lasting friendships. They meet with, and talk with new friends, and reach out to other members in their Autistic community. They have increased social supports. They foster a strong sense of belonging and increase their social cohesion, connection and functioning within their ‘safe’ Autistic community.
• This new sense of inclusion, acceptance and autonomy is empowering for participants. Their new approach is transformative, reducing anxiety and building self-worth. Participants experience an improvement in their mental health.

• Autistic young people are able to participate more at school. Their new found confidence helps them navigate the often confusing idiosyncrasies of neurotypical behaviour and social situations become easier.

• Siblings have a greater ability to maintain informal support of the Autistic young person, to advocate for, and support them to participate and contribute to community and enjoy an enduring and mutually sustaining relationship.
• Parents experience an increase in confidence and this enables them to explore new opportunities like volunteering, work placements, training and apprenticeships, as well as practical assistance and supports.

Long Term Outcomes

• With their new Autistic family friends, participants feel supported to try new things. They have much higher engagement and participation rates in mainstream social and community activities. This results in a much stronger sense of connectedness in their broader community, and in turn, gives them the confidence and connections to access support networks, community services and other new opportunities of social, civic and economic participation.

• Participants experience a sustained increase in self-worth and wellbeing and improvements in mental and physical wellbeing. They regularly engage in self-care  and are better able to care for and support themselves and their family members.

• Participants experience a cumulative increase in confidence, community connection, skills, knowledge, training and independence improving readiness for economic participation, employment and education. Reduced levels of welfare dependency in the long-term.

Ultimately, all of these factors will impact on life expectancy, which best-case scenario, based on three international studies, is currently 53 years of age.