WHAT DOES SG OFFER MEMBERS?
Spectrum Gaming is a community for autistic young people (aged 8-17). This community is provided free of charge and is supervised by paid and voluntary staff. Our staff members are all DBS checked and undergo safeguarding training and we also provide ongoing training to our team so they are able to support our members in the best way possible. Young people in our community also benefit from members of our staff team having lived experience of being neurodivergent themselves.
Our offer includes:
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Two Discord Servers
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A Minecraft Server
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A variety of online events
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Regular face to face meetups in the Greater Manchester area, which include forest school, youth club and football
Spectrum Gaming doesn't just focus on enabling friendships and connection though, but also on advocacy, and ensuring autistic young people’s voices are heard. Therefore, we have lots of opportunities for our members to get involved with our advocacy projects if they would like to, from creating artwork and writing content, to delivering training to parents and professionals.
This is just a brief summary, but if you would like to find out more about who we are and what we do, you can read more on our About Us page.
WHO CAN JOIN OUR COMMUNITY?
In order to be eligible to join our community your young person must meet the following criteria:
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Be a young person aged 8-17
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Reside in the Greater Manchester area, Bedford, or be a sibling of a current member
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Be autistic
We are currently only accepting new applications from young people aged 8-17, living in the Greater Manchester area or Bedford, as well as applications from siblings of current members that live outside these areas.
Previously we have accepted membership from across the UK and when we secure further funding, this will 'unlock' more spaces for members in other areas. However as we do not operate a waiting list, or have any current timescales of when this might be, if you would like to keep up to date on when we are accepting members from other areas, it is best to follow us on social media, as that is where we would post any updates. If you would like to offer support with securing funding in your local area, please email development@spectrumgaming.net
Young people do not need to have an official diagnosis to join our community, but must fulfil one of the following criteria:
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They have an autism diagnosis
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They are on the waiting list for an assessment/ diagnosis
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They self identify as autistic
Spectrum Gaming is a very openly autistic community where autism is discussed all the time. Therefore your young person may find this confusing if they join but they are not aware that they are, or could be, autistic.
If your young person meets the above criteria for joining you can fill out an application form here.
Please note:
Our community is only for young people who are aged 8-17 (or 10-17 in Bedford). Unfortunately we do not support adults, and are currently not expanding to this age range.
We also do not have any current plans to expand membership to beyond the UK.