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2024-09-30-accounts

ACTION FOR NEURODIVERSITY CDUN5ELLIN5 LIVE5 AFFECTEU BY AUTISM ANU A5PERSER'S SYNDRDME J. i<v, Annual Report 2023 - 2024

Annual Report 2023 - 2024

Providing autism-specialist counselling to those who live with and/or those who live alongside Asperger’s syndrome/autism who are struggling and in need of help.

Autism-Specialist Counselling Centre

9 Darwin House,

Corbygate Business Park Priors Haw Road,

Corby,

Northamptonshire

NN17 5JG

Report of the Trustees for the Period ended: 30 September 2024

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Annual Report 2023 - 2024

Index

Page Subject

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Annual Report 2023 - 2024

Introduction

The Trustees present their annual report and unaudited financial statements for the period ended 30 September 2023, and confirm they comply with The Charities Act 1993, as amended by The Charities Act 2006, the Trust Deed, and the Charities SORP 2005. Principle office: Autism-Specialist Counsellingv Centre, 9 Darwin House, Corbygate Business Park, Priors Haw Road, Corby, Northamptonshire, NN17 5JG

Board of Trustees

Patrons

Independent Examiners

Bulley Davey Accountant, 6 North Street, Oundle, Peterborough, PE8 4AL

Bankers

The Co-operative Bank.

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Annual Report 2023 - 2024

Governing Document

The constitution was adopted on 01 October 2008, amended on 31 August 2012, and subsequently amended on 22 September 2017.

Organisational Structure

Action for Neurodiversity (AfN) is governed by a board of trustees. The charity trustees are responsible for the general control and management of the charity. The trustees give their time freely and receive no remuneration or other financial benefits.

The trustees meet as a body quarterly and are responsible for all decisions taken in relation to running AfN and the activities provided by the charity.

The trustees have encouraged the recruitment of volunteers for AfN since charity registration was awarded on 31 August 2012. The volunteers have been deployed for purposes of fundraising, counselling, and assisting the founder, Elaine Nicholson, with various office administration and secretarial tasks.

The day-to-day management of AfN and its various projects is the responsibility of Elaine Nicholson, founder, counsellor, and chief executive officer (CEO) of AfN.

Trustee Roles

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The Recruitment and Appointment of Trustees

The trustees are responsible for the recruitment of new trustees, but in doing so the trustees seek the views and recommendations of volunteers and respected professionals presently working in the autism community. The trustees believe that this approach will ensure that any new trustees have a good knowledge of autism per se – based on personal, professional, and experiential backdrops.

Potential trustees will be invited to attend trustees’ meetings as observers and will be apprised of the charity’s aims and objectives, and, if all agreed, they will then be proposed as new trustees at the next trustees’ meetings. The process will allow for due consideration of the person’s eligibility, personal competence, specialist knowledge and skills.

Induction and Training of trustees

Following an appointment of a new trustee, such persons will be introduced to their new role and given copies of the governing document and a guide to the policies and procedures adopted by AfN. Some publications from the Charities Commission are also provided, including the guidance on charities and public benefit and on the advancement of autism awareness knowledge for the public benefit. This should ensure that new trustees should be aware of the scope of their responsibilities under the Charities Act.

Initially, new trustees will work and be guided by, existing trustees, and will, within six months, be given the task of heading a project or activity, reporting progress at a trustees meeting that follows within a time frame of 6 months.

Risk Management

The trustees review risk regularly during their quarterly meetings. Appropriate Disclosure and Barring Safeguarding (DBS) checks that are enhanced (formerly CRB) are made for all those who have a connection to AfN, whatever their capacity. Child Safeguarding and Vulnerable Adult safeguarding training courses are made available to those who work with such groups.

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Objectives

The objects of AfN are set out in the charity’s constitution document and are summarised as follows:

To offer a bespoke counselling service for lives over the age of three years which have become adversely affected by the experience of Asperger’s syndrome (autism spectrum disorder). This applies to those who have autism, and those who have a close relationship with someone who has autism.

Our aim serves to enable the furtherance of autistic mental health awareness in both the local and wider community. Additionally, AfN can also provide training.

Strategies and community activities

AfN’s service is a 24/7 assistance facility for those who need it, via electronic communications and/or face-to-face communications. Clients may contact us at any time via email, hence the “24/7”; this is allowable due to the complex processing that goes with an autistic neurological profile and gives the clients a chance to ask questions and/or share their concerns outside of the counselling sessions.

The charity offers low-cost counselling therapy; we request from clients a donation for their counselling session (currently £43-£65 per hour – lower to higher incomes – the client decides where they are on that pricing scale). If a client is unable to pay, we offer telephone and/or email support gratis.

AfN also offers student counselling at £22.50 per hour with counsellors who are in their last year of their training, and emotional support sessions for £17.50 per hour. Emotional support is provided by workers who, though not counselling trained, have a strong experiential background of autism. Emotional Support Workers also partake in AfN training and monthly autism-specialist supervision.

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Activities

Customer Relations Management (CRM) System

Our client notes and records management remain with the CRM system HubSpot, at the moment. The CRM system remains functional and effective though not quite “fitting” our requirements. Investigations have continued, and a new system has now been found which the charity will be transitioning to during the next reporting period. We hope this will improve the accuracy of the charity’s data and statistics.

Statistical data is gained through analysing emails and the CRM system. Following a number of changes within the organisation during this year, work on the CRM system is ongoing, and it is hoped that the charity will be in a position to provide precise statistical evidence by the time of the charity year 2024/2025.

Human Resources

During this period the charity has had 20 counsellors, 4 student counsellors and also went from 2 emotional support workers to 3. The charity is always looking to recruit new counsellors and emotional support workers – particularly those who are available to work from the main office in Corby - as the mental health of our autistic clients continues to be a priority.

Safeguarding

Paul James has remained our safeguarding consultant for this reporting period. Paul has had a career of over 35 years in school leadership and children’s services. He has both provided training to our counsellors, student counsellors and emotional support workers, and continued in the role of Designated Safeguarding Lead (DSL) for the charity.

Fundraising

How do we raise funds? Our therapists are priced out at half of what they would earn privately; AfN “creams” off from their hourly rate, and though this isn’t much, we have sustained ourselves since 2008.

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Annual Report 2023 - 2024

Elaine Nicholson and Sonia Owen also continue to work freely doing the administration/managerial work for AfN, with Elaine also donating approximately £20k pa from her counselling work. The charity also has a voluntary fundraising consultant to help with bid writing.

We would like to be able to provide free, in-person counselling to those who do not have the funds to pay for their counselling but until we can bring in more funds this is not currently possible.

Financial

AfN remains a donation-led service, although it is hoped that funding from sources such as grants will follow as the charity continues to deploy expert fundraising consultancy. The majority of income is from donations for counselling services as mentioned above.

Autistic Empathy

In June 2022 we launched Autistic Empathy - a friendship and dating community which has been devised by our CEO, Elaine Nicholson, specifically for people with autism and Asperger’s syndrome. It’s friendly community with a holistic and welcoming vibe.

The community is heavily monitored, with an admin and moderation team overseeing things on a daily basis. The team regularly check in on the content posted, to monitor for inappropriate language and images.

The team also work hard behind the scenes checking the new users for obvious red flags, validating those who provide ID for verification purposes, dealing with those at the end of

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their 3-week trial period who have not provided ID for verification and checking for and dealing with any reports from users as soon as possible.

The community remains a success with lots of members who inform us that they love Autistic Empathy being a smaller app with a holistic community vibe, rather than a bigger app with hundreds of thousands of members which can get overwhelming and have a lot more trouble arising. Members also report appreciating our verification rule to keep users safe. The feedback we get is that it enables them to feel safer because they know that if they are talking to a verified user, they are talking to a real person.

During this last 12-month period, Autistic Empathy has maintained member numbers of between 750 – 1000. This fluctuates a lot with new users joining but also non-verified members being removed on a daily basis. The app is averaging 4 new sign-ups and 75 active members per day.

The community can be accessed by downloading the App from the Apple store for iOS, or Google Play store for Android. It can also be accessed via the web. To access via the web, you can email info@autisticempathy.com and ask for a weblink.

Teen Therapy Project

The teen project has been running since June 2023, when Action for Neurodiversity was fortunate enough to receive funding to provide free in-person counselling to local neurodivergent teenagers.

Between 1[st] October 2023 and 30[th] September 2024, I have been able to welcome 34 fantastic young people through the doors of Action for Neurodiversity, to our nurturing sensory counselling room. Each teenager is offered a series of counselling sessions to be able to talk about things that are important to them, in a confidential, empathic space.

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Throughout the year, I have spent 197 counselling hours with these young individuals and have had the pleasure of getting to know each person and about their life and experiences. Each person is unique, and has varying needs, goals and reasons for attending therapy. The counselling sessions are tailored to the individual and are very much person-centred.

Young people need to know that support is available and accessible. What we provide at Action for Neurodiversity is unique and tailored to people who are neurodivergent. So many teenagers are waiting long periods of time to receive support or are getting the wrong support; so, to be able to offer free counselling to them is just so critical.

Being heard and respected is important to us all, and for teenagers going through so many changes and seeking a sense of who they are, it is vital. Together we learn to piece together and understand their emotions and experiences and to look at coping mechanisms for life’s challenges. We utilise our sensory space at AfN, which contains games and creative activities to discover new possibilities, a sense of self and ways of coping.

Teenagers that I have worked with in this period are dealing with depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, identity issues, friendship issues, social interaction difficulties, learning difficulties, problems within school and family and relationship problems, which massively affects their well-being.

I have seen such positive results in the young people that I have worked with. Seeing young people start to open up, gain more confidence, increase self-esteem, be happier, more positive and able to cope better is such a privilege.

The feedback that I have received from the teens and the caregivers has been so positive. Changes happen when kindness and understanding is offered, and young people feel better equipped with the tools to cope.

Without the funding all this would not have been possible.

Thank you to all the young people who have allowed me to get to know them this year. It’s been a privilege.

Jemima Gee

Teen Counsellor

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Annual Report 2023 - 2024

Figures for the reporting period 01/10/2023 - 31/09/2024

In last year’s AGM report, we reported that for the 12-month reporting period we had received 952 email enquiries. By comparison, for the 12-month period of this report, the charity received approximately 747 enquiries. This represents an average of 62 enquiries per month or roughly 14 enquiries a week. These figures represent a 21% drop in enquiries over this 12-month period.

In terms of month to month, the busiest month was October 2023 (84 enquiries), closely followed by March 2024 with 81 enquiries. The quietest months were February 2024 (47 enquiries) and December 2023 and September 2024, both standing 48 enquiries.

Despite the lower number of enquiries, in terms of the overall numbers on the charity’s CRM system, there were 687 new clients added during this period in total. Clients do not always just come from the enquiries. They might come from an in-house referral, for example (i.e., a current individual client deciding with their partner to have some couples counselling, and the partner becoming a client). Even with the enquiries, it is not a case of one enquiry = one client. Sometimes an enquiry doesn’t progress. Sometimes one enquiry leads to a family coming on board as clients.

Where do our clients come from?

By Country

----- Start of picture text -----
Scotland Rest of the world
Ireland 4% 3%
1%
Wales
7%
England
85%
----- End of picture text -----

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Annual Report 2023 - 2024

The majority of clients come from England, with the number standing at 57%. Wales represents 5%, Scotland 2% and Ireland 1%

The 32% labelled ‘Not Disclosed’ indicates that, via client personal preference, they chose not to divulge their geographical whereabouts.

Thanks to Skype/Facetime/Zoom technology we have clients from all over the world. The 3% labelled ‘Rest of the World’ is detailed like so:

Australia; Bahrain; Belgium; Canada; Channel Islands; Chile; China; Costa Rica; Croatia; Cuba; Cyprus; Czech Republic; Democratic Republic of Congo; Ecuador; Finland; France; Germany; Greece; Hong Kong; Hungary; India; Isle of Man; Israel; Italy; Japan; Kenya; Kuwait; Luxembourg; Malaysia; Mexico; Monaco; Netherlands; New Zealand; Norway; Palestine; Panama; Peru; Philippines; Poland; Portugal; Rwanda; Samoa; Saudi Arabia; Singapore; Slovakia; Spain; Sudan; Sweden; Switzerland; Tanzania; Thailand; Trinidad and Tobago; Tunisia; United Arab Emirates; USA; Vietnam.

England and the breakdown of the counties

----- Start of picture text -----
Bedfordshire Buckinghamshire
2% 2% Cambridgeshire
7%
Rest of England Essex
22% 2% Hampshire
2%
Hertfordshire
3%
Kent
2%
Leicestershire
Yorkshire
5%
6%
Lincolnshire
2%
West Midlands
4%
Warwickshire
2% London
10%
Sussex
2%
Suffolk
2%
Oxfordshire
2% Northamptonshire
25%
----- End of picture text -----

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Annual Report 2023 - 2024

The 22% ‘Rest of England’ is detailed like so, for the following geographical areas have a number of less than 75 clients accessing the service from these areas:

Berkshire; Bristol; Cheshire; Cornwall; County Durham; Cumbria; Derbyshire; Devon; Dorset; Gloucestershire; Greater Manchester; Herefordshire; Isle of Man; Isle of Wight; Lancashire; Merseyside; Norfolk; Northumberland; Nottinghamshire; Rutland; Shropshire; Somerset; Staffordshire; Suffolk; Tyne and Wear; Wiltshire; Worcestershire.

Client Satisfaction

AfN did once again duly undertake client satisfaction audits. We continue to evaluate our performance this way because we continuously strive to provide a high-quality service for our clients. We want our clients to feel heard and always encourage them to give us their comments – good or bad – as it allows us to understand what we are getting right which areas we need to improve on or change altogether.

The questionnaire that was used to elicit information was created via Google Forms, with a link to it distributed via email to random AfN clients. Participation was completely optional. Responses were also anonymised.

Feedback was provided by respondents of all ages giving us a broad range of feedback from across the age groups. Of those who completed the survey, 71.4% were clients and 28.6% were representatives responding on behalf of a client (including parents/guardians/carers). The survey found that 85.7% of clients had sought counselling, with the other 14.3% having sought emotional support.

----- Start of picture text -----
65+
5%
55 - 64 Under 18
10% 14%
18 - 25
9%
45 - 54
33% 26 - 34
19%
35 - 44
10%
Client Ages
----- End of picture text -----

----- Start of picture text -----
Emotional
Suppoort
14%
Counselling
86%
Service Sought
----- End of picture text -----

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Annual Report 2023 - 2024

Of those seeking counselling, 85.8% of clients had accessed individual sessions, 9.5% had accessed relationship counselling and the remaining 4.7% had accessed a combination of the two. Having accessed one of our services, 95% of clients felt that their mental health had improved since becoming a client of AfN – with some having improved to the point of finishing their counselling journey and some feeling improvement as they still continue on their counselling journey.

The comments for the 5% who had not felt an improvement showed that this was primarily due to concerns around counsellor or emotional support worker seen not being the right fit for them, so they didn’t get what they wanted from the sessions.

The quality of service provided by Action for Neurodiversity was seen as generally very positive: 81% of the clients who responded rated their overall experience with their counsellor or emotional support worker as ‘excellent’, and 9.5% as good. The remaining 9.5% rated the service as satisfactory, with no respondents rating the service poorly.

----- Start of picture text -----
Satisfactory
10%
Good
9%
Excellent
81%
----- End of picture text -----

Quality of Service

Among respondents who rated their experience as satisfactory, the primary feedback highlighted the importance of feeling heard. The charity plans to implement additional training in the second half of 2025 and will consider further training for its counsellors and emotional support workers to enhance their listening skills and ensure they respond in a manner that makes clients feel acknowledged.

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Annual Report 2023 - 2024

Le#er from Elaine Nicholson MBE, the CEO of Ac9on for Neurodiversity:

Dear Valued Supporters,

I'm reaching out about our unique "small but mighty" organisation that delivers vital services to individuals and families navigating autism and related neurodevelopmental conditions. We describe

ourselves as "small but mighty" because despite our modest resources, we've managed to support over 10,000 clients—a number that continues to grow steadily.

Our dedicated team has expanded significantly. We now employ 24 qualified counsellors, 3 counsellorsin-training, and 3 emotional support specialists, all passionately committed to serving the autism community. These professionals generously accept compensation that's 60% below their private practice rates—their dedication is truly extraordinary.

Recently, our new trustee Suzanne Styles has brought fresh energy and expertise to our organisation. As an entrepreneur, coach, and self-taught technology specialist, Suzanne has conducted invaluable research to help Action for Neurodiversity operate more efficiently. Her tireless efforts to maximise our potential have been remarkable. However, this transition has presented unexpected challenges. While ending relationships with longstanding service providers, we've faced unanticipated and substantial final invoices. Though we've managed to settle these debts, the financial impact has been devastating—we

are now in a precarious position. Without immediate financial intervention, we cannot sustain operations beyond March 2027. Should our organisation cease to exist, a truly innovative service would be lost. Our approach works and our systems are well-established; unfortunately, autism support remains an underrepresented cause in the charitable funding landscape.

Action for Neurodiversity pioneered specialised counselling for neurodivergent individuals, though many may remember us as Action for Aspergers when we began in October 2008. Our growth from just 20 clients in 2012 (when we officially registered with the Charity Commission) to thousands today stands as compelling evidence of our effectiveness and the critical need for our services. We hope everyone interested in our work recognises this remarkable journey.

I earnestly request that you share our story widely—we require immediate financial assistance to continue our essential work. I remain hopeful that together, we can overcome these challenging circumstances.

With sincere appreciation,

Elaine Nicholson MBE Founder, Counsellor & CEO

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Annual Report 2023- 2024 Action for Neurodiversity Statement of Fin%Dcial Activitie5 Ye4r ended 30 September 2024 Unrestrlcted Restrlcted ruttdl Totsi fuDd5 2024 2024 2024 2•25 DonalioThsandfjrawsr¢ttived 27.476 27,476 66.642 27.476 27,476 66.642 Cb*rltibie COtssui￿tIorts. diawsis atrj ass¢ssmettts m￿CelL￿ 124.955 124,955 147,225 124.955 124,955 147.225 AcdTAdL¥ lurGeDErntkngFulld 152,431 213.867 ACti￿tiN forGener1d￿ Fund5 Cfy5ts G7ft￿G[knts wett clos￿85t0￿k 1,3(I5 (6￿) iJtt6 (wi J J06 CbaritAbleAclhillES Dlr¢¢tCwts Pmf¢5sional services Eryloy￿EDt co￿$ otficecosts Costs for<lubs 14,149 17.829 16.557 10557 31.648 1,742 32.448 ,742 32.448 72J39 CharitAblpAcllYillES Supwtcojts Coryutcrand rrsuppDrtcKpcn5ES 17216 3.527 12.708 92,637 3.￿0 11,708 92M7 323 SuiKontrAC￿￿s Sub5¢riPtious Teiephort Travel andsUt4W¢TK¢ BInk¢h&￿9 2.329 2,448 2.876 1.143 2,152 2.573 233 7.029 Sunthy artd¢leatiu Depr¢¢ist￿n (P[0￿y10ss otsthsprAal tsffLxed assets iJ23 1.419 2.419 131 143.767 165J12 217,487 Excess ofp9￿MntS overtettipts Fuuds brought forward Funds caTfiEd forward {IZ,8811 40.852 27.971 44,472 40,852 27.971 17

Annual Report 2023 - 2024

The financial statements were approved by the trustees and signed on their behalf by:

Name: Elaine Nicholson (CEO)

Date: 20/05/2025

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Annual Report 2023 - 2024

Action for Neurodiversity

Notes to the accounts for the year ended 30 September 2024

1 Accounting Policies

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS102) (effective 1 January 2015) - (Charities SORP (FRS102)), the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS102). The charity meets the definition of a public benefit entity under FRS102.

a) Income and resources expended

Income and expenditure incurred on the operating of the charity is provided for on an accruals basis.

b) Depreciation

Depreciation is provided on non-current assets so as to write off the cost or valuation, less any estimated residual value, over their expected useful economic life as follow:

Asset Class Depreciation method and rate
Computer Equipment 5 years straight line basis
Office Equipment 5 years straight line basis
Vehicles 25% reducing balance basis

2 Trustees Expenses

The trustees received no emoluments (2023 : £nil). During the year, telephone, travel and subsistence expenses were reimbursed to trustees at cost totalling £331(2023 : £71).

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Annual Report 2023 - 2024

Independent Examiner's Report to the Trustees

I report on the accounts of Action for Neurodiversity, charity number 1148790, for the period ended 30 September 2024.

Respective responsibilities of trustees and examiner

The charity’s trustees are responsible for the preparation of the accounts. The charity’s trustees consider that an audit is not required for this period under section 144 of the Charities Act 2011 (the Charities Act) and that an independent examination is needed.

It is my responsibility to:

Basis of independent examiner's statement

My examination was carried out in accordance with General Directions given by the Charity Commission. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts and seeking explanations from you the trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit, and consequently no opinion is given as to whether the accounts present a ‘true and fair’ view, and the report is limited to those matters set out in the statement below.

Independent examiner's statement

In the course of my examination, no matter has come to my attention:

Graham Darbourne FCA

TC Group The Old Town Hall Market Place Oundle Peterborough PE8 4BA

Date:

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A bespoke counselling service for lives that have become adversely affected by the experience of Asperger's syndrome (Autism Spectrum Disorder) 01536 266681 info@actionforneurodiversity.org www.actionforneurodiversity.org Officelconsulting rooms: Action for Neurodiversity, Autism-specialist Counselling Centre, 9 Darwin House, Corbygate Business Park, Priors Haw Road, Corby Northamptonshire, NN17 5JG 000 bacpl . profe551onal- siandards authorty Charlty Re8lstratlon 1148790 Fourbded 2008