About us
Who we are
CAAS's mission is to support, educate and empower ADHD/autistic individuals, their families and the community. Through raising awareness, we change perceptions and break down barriers.
Support - CAAS aims to provide support and understanding in a safe and non-judgemental environment. As well as having relevant qualifications, the personal experience of staff along with empathy and understanding allows those who use our services to feel a sense of belonging when they access the centre. We provide a comprehensive service that acknowledges that people need support pre and post-diagnosis.
Educate - Understanding and increased awareness come through education. CAAS offers training using skilled support workers, specialist courses, specialised workshops, conferences and a comprehensive lending library.
Empower - Feeling empowered can break down barriers and encourage positivity about the future. Through support and education, we empower those who use our services to be more confident and independent, enabling them to reach their full potential.
We support families through drop-in support sessions, and tailored parenting courses, we provide one2one meetings, group and courses for young people and adults, and we provide training and awareness building sessions for schools, statutory and voluntary sector organisations to improve understanding and acceptance of neurodivergence, and ensure services are more accessible.
Last year we provided over 60 different services, all intended to support the mental wellbeing of neurodivergent people, and to allow them to thrive. We reached over 4000 people during the year, helping to create a community in which neurodivergent people have equal access and opportunity, and where they can live their lives fully, feeling positive about the future and confident in who they are.
Our culture and values
Integrity: CAAS is committed to the practice of being honest and showing a consistent and uncompromising adherence to our mission
Taking responsibility for delivering what we say we will
Being honest with ourselves and with others
Valuing Difference: what is normal? CAAS recognise and value that differences can be valuable assets in the workplace, and in our communities
Sharing our knowledge and insights with others
Tailoring our communication to each individual
Being open-minded and empathic about situations that may arise and potential solutions that may be considered
Passion: we are committed to the work of CAAS in continuously improving outcomes for ADHD/autistic people and to creating inclusive communities where ADHD/autistic people can thrive
Learning from our mistakes to ensure we continuously improve
Constantly updating our advice to consider latest best practice
Using our initiative to find ways of doing things better
Collaboration: we work with ADHD/autistic people to amplify their voices. We never aim to speak for them. We work with each other, with our funders and with our community, as more than the sum of our parts, to best support the delivery of our mission
Having clear and open communication
Listening first and actively
Finding mutually supportive solutions
Valuing other members of the team, and celebrating each other’s successes and skills
Trust and Respect: CAAS staff are privileged to be trusted to amplify the voice of ADHD/autistic people, and will always treat beneficiaries, and each other, with the utmost respect
Seeking to understand the perspectives of others
Be dependable, with good timekeeping, dress code, infrequent absences etc.
Being constructive in our feedback
Equality, diversity and inclusion policy
Our EDI policy can be found on our website, under About Us / Policies and Information