Autism Partnership Board
The Autism Partnership Board is made up of autistic and neurodiverse people and professionals from a range of statutory and voluntary and community sector organisations.
The board discusses issues relating to services and support to Autistic people in the city and discusses actions that may be needed to make improvements.
A key aim of the board currently is to deliver a local Autism Strategy for Hull and oversee it’s implementation, identifying opportunities for positive impact for people in Hull.
When we meet
The Autism Partnership Board meets every 2 months usually a Tuesday at 1.30pm.
How we meet
We meet on Microsoft Teams.
How to get involved
To become a member of the Autism Partnership Board please contact us at adultsdeliveringdifferently@hullcc.gov.uk
Hull's Autism Strategy 2025
In July 2025, Hull’s Autism Strategy 2025-2028 was launched by the Autism Partnership Board for young people and adults in Hull. Autism is one aspect of neurodivergence which includes Asperger’s Syndrome, ADHD, Dyslexia, Dyspraxia, Tourettes Syndrome, Dyscalculia, language and audio processing disorder.
This work has been inclusive of stakeholders which include autistic people, carers and family members and members of the Autism Partnership Board.
‘’Being autistic and ADHD myself, I think it's important for autistic people to lead on this type of work as they come in with personal experience and know what changes will matter the most to people. It's also far too common for people to infantilise autistic people and think they know what's best for us without checking if that's actually the case. Being able to advocate for ourselves and our community feels very empowering.
My role within the strategy was to create graphics to promote and share information regarding the project. I loved being part of it, seeing it grow throughout the past year to where it is now. I felt supported by everyone involved and loved hearing everyone’s input to make the strategy what it is. Seeing the finished project out there makes me feel really proud, I hope we can make a really difference around Hull. I'd love to be a part of a project like this again and I'd encourage others to do the same to make the city a more welcoming and supportive place for all.’’
Melissa Bowles, Mathew's Hub
The strategy has been informed by what autistic people in Hull have told us, this is the leading section for each of the themes. We have then added context from the National Autism Strategy before setting out the actions that we need to take.
Autism Strategy 2025 - 2028 (Link opens in YouTube)
‘’Our ambition for this strategy is to make Hull an inclusive place to live, where there is equal opportunity for all. The strategy recognises that in order to make this happen some things will need to change.’’
The themes of the Autism Strategy are -
- Understanding and acceptance of autism in society
- Improving autistic young chidren and young people's access to education and supporting positive transition to adulthood
- Supporting more autistic people into employment
- Tackling health and care inequalities for autistic people
- Building the right support in the community and supporting people in inpatient care
- Improving support within the criminal and youth justice sytem
Why is this strategy important?
We know that autism can affect people in different ways. We have heard from autistic people about the impact being autistic can have on their physical and mental health, experience of the education system, access to wider public services such as transport, involvement with the criminal justice system and employment opportunities.
When we consider this along with the backdrop of levels of deprivation that Hull faces we can start to understand how autistic people are being impacted in fundamental areas of their lives.
Action plan: Connect to National and Local Strategies
- How will we know if behaviour is changing towards autistic people and their
- families, what will our measures be?
- How will we measure improvements?
- What does good look like? (this needs to be led by the autistic community for each area?)
- How do we support organisations , business and public sector services to become autism inclusive and affirming?
- How do we support other initiatives via connecting to other public strategies across and the local authority and ICB initially to include workforce, transport, housing, L&D etc?
- Action plan to include what does good look like for each theme of the strategy which will need to be led by/ informed by autistic people.
Get Involved
If you would to get involved in implementing this strategy or would like to find out more information, please contact us at adultsdeliveringdifferently@hullcc.gov.uk