Why We’re Here?
Asperger Services Australia was established in 1994 because our founding members had experienced the frustrating lack of support for autistic people and their loved ones in accessing quality programs to improve their individual life journeys. With a vision for people with Asperger’s Syndrome to live with confidence and self-belief, our mission was to empower people with Asperger’s Syndrome to reach their potential through programs and services based on inclusiveness, self-development and self-advocacy.
After almost 28 years, we feel the time is right to update our brand and messaging in order to better reflect who we are and all we have to offer autistic people. So we are excited to share with you the new Empower Autism brand which comes into effect today, 20 January 2022.
Our logo and colours won’t change, as these were designed with the input of autistic people and we believe they convey the insight and empowerment we provide.
Our New Website Today we are launching a brand new website, consistent with our new and improved brand direction. You’ll see similar updates across all Empower Autism materials over the coming weeks, ensuring consistency and quality in all that we do.
Our Commitments To You
Empower Autism believes that society thrives when diverse individuals, experiences, perspectives, and cultures are welcomed and celebrated. We envision a world where autistic people fully participate, contribute and succeed to their fullest potential with confidence and self-belief.
Empower Autism is committed to act with purpose and intention to:
- Champion diversity by building a community of board directors, staff and volunteers who are as diverse as the community we serve.
- Encourage open, transparent dialogue among diverse voices and perspectives to shape our services, programs, and workplace culture.
- Commit to inclusiveness of lived experience in all program design and development.
- Empower and support autistic people to improve their employment outcomes and social connectedness.
- Collaborate with employers to create a mutually supportive workplace.
Our commitment to the 5 pillars above will ensure we are able to celebrate and cultivate a diverse community, while working to enable positive social change for and with autistic people through programs based on inclusiveness, self-development, and self-advocacy.
How will our new name and brand impact on our participants, families and supporters?
We’re keen to ensure there are only positive impacts! We’re still the same organisation that has been supporting the autistic community for the past 27 years. There will be no reduction in the programs and services we offer – in fact we’re looking to expand our service offering. We’ve always held the belief that how people refer to their neurodiversity is an individual choice – whether you’re an autistic person, an Aspie or a person on the spectrum; you’re an individual and we will always respect you and your right to choose how you identify.
What’s Next?
You will continue to receive communication and resources as we roll out the new Empower Autism branding and messaging. What you will notice moving forward, will be the communications you receive from us by email will emanate from our new email addresses (e.g. office@empowerautism.org.au), so you may want to flag that address as ‘safe’ on your senders list. In the meantime, check out our new website and keep your eye out for exciting things to come www.empowerautism.org.au
We hope that you will see this change as a better reflection of our role within the autistic community. For any further questions, please contact us on (07) 3865 2911 during office hours. Thank you!