Today is World Autism Day and Cedar’s Right 4U😊 Services has been facilitating several exciting and fun educational activities and events to raise awareness about autism, promote inclusion for service users and encourage people living with autism and their families to access support through Cedar services. 

Belfast Right 4U😊 staff hosted a walking group at Shaw’s Bridge. 9 individuals participated in the walk. The weather was not great but Right 4 U Project Officer Caroline Hewitt said:

“It was a great opportunity to do an activity marking Autism Awareness day, and we all wore blue to show our support!”

Staff also hosted a family focused event at Cedar’s Ravenhill Reach office were families were given information on promoting mindfulness. A group of of parents, carers and service users attended and a number of families felt that some the strategies to take time and relax would be very beneficial.  

In the Western area Right 4U😊 service users met up to go for lunch and catch up with friends which was fun, relaxing and proved a great opportunity to catch up. The Family Education Project funded through the Big Lottery Fund partnered up with Cedar’s Youth Matters Service Western Trust area also decided to go for a meal in their local restaurant to celebrate the completion of their Cyber Safety Personal Development Programme. This celebration was extremely fitting with the United Nations theme of this year’s awareness day “Assistive Technologies, Active Participation”. The group really enjoyed the food, the craic and spending time with their new-found friends.

The beginning of April also sees the start of a wider Autism Awareness week. We will be participating in more events during the week including a Family Fun Day facilitated by The Big Lottery Fund project that aims to encourage families to come together and enjoy family fun activities. Cedar will continue to work towards the vision of a society inclusive for all by offering a range of activities that ensure people with autism can engage in local community-based events.

Keep up to date via Facebook and Twitter and visit our dedicated Right 4U😊 and Youth Matters information pages to learn more about these services.