About Us

A warm welcome from the National Autistic Society, Stafford and District Branch. We provide support for autistic people and their families. No formal diagnosis of autism is required in order to become involved.

Many families find that the time they need support the most is while on the journey to diagnosis. So if you or your family member is on the pathway to diagnosis or even if you believe there are traits and are in the early stages of understanding autism, you are welcome here.

If you would like to volunteer or get involved in any other way with the branch, please speak to our Branch Officer Tracey Harrison via email to stafford@nas.org.uk or if you’d like to meet the committee you can find us all here.

What Sort of Things Do We Do?

  • Organise clubs, activities, school holiday trips and parent support groups for autistic people and their families.

  • Provide information, representation, emotional and social support to autistic people and their families.

  • Raise awareness of ASC locally and campaign for positive change.

  • We have a number of trained volunteers who help out at our clubs and activities for children and young people.

  • Our parent and carer support groups run on the second Wednesday of each month at 19.30 via Zoom. Our guest speakers to date have included Harry Thompson, professional speaker, consultant and published authour of The PDA Paradox, Libby Hill, Speech and Language Therapist from Small Talk Speech Therapy, Alison Hart, Sensory Processing Accredited Occupational Therapist from Children's Choice Therapy and Cllr Jonathan Price, Cabinet Member for Education (and SEND).

Code of Conduct for Volunteers

  • Adopt the National Autistic Society’s core values, policies and procedures and fairly represent the organisation.

  • Create a safe and welcoming environment for all those attending the branch.

  • Treat all other volunteers and branch members with respect. Any physical, emotional, verbal abuse or rudeness towards other volunteers or branch members will not be tolerated.

  • Maintain confidentiality regarding the NAS, its employees, volunteers, branch members and its work.

  • Be reliable. They will make it clear when and how they will be available and meet these expectations, or provide as much notice as possible if they cannot.

  • Respond to queries within the agreed time limits. This includes acknowledging all event bookings.

  • Listen to all branch member concerns and respond appropriately.

Code of Conduct for Members

  • Treat all volunteers and branch members with respect. Any physical, emotional, verbal abuse or rudeness towards volunteers or other branch members will not be tolerated.

  • Treat all branch property (including the venues they use) with respect and do not deliberately damage it.

  • Communicate with the branch volunteers. We ask that you tell us if you have any concerns and respond to our questions or queries within the agreed time limits. This includes ensuring that you pre-book for all events and tell us how and when you will cover the cost (if there is one).

  • Supervise and be responsible for their children at all times. As a result, they must do all they can to ensure that their children also follow this code of conduct.

  • If a branch member fails to comply with the above they may be asked to leave the branch and will no longer be able to attend activities. Equally, if a branch member has concerns over the conduct of a volunteer, these should be raised with the branch officer Tracey Harrison.