After being diagnosed with autism at 56, Peter Baimbridge has been on a journey to support others with the condition through the charity he founded, Salford Autism.
He explained how the charity works to support people across Salford and Greater Manchester, but raised concerns that the level of help available to people with the neurodevelopmental condition has declined in recent years.
Baimbridge, director of Salford Autism, was diagnosed with autism at 56 and described how there was even less help than there is now.
Baimbridge said, “I’ve always been a doer rather than a taker, so we set about providing the assistance that we know autistic people need.
“From the day we are born, we’ve got everybody on our back to do things differently, to get some therapy, or whatever else, because we often don’t fit in, through no fault of our own and everybody else thinks they know better about what we need to do to sort ourselves out.”
Peter and his colleague Kay both lived in Salford 12 years ago when they launched Salford Autism, with Peter’s background in business and Kay being a retired social care manager.
With Kay moving into the city centre and Peter moving to South Manchester to care for his mother, the pair also launched a service in central Manchester.
He described how they aim “not to change them, but to stand next to the individual as a best friend or maybe older brother.”
They have successfully helped many over the years and Peter described how they have the personal details of over 5,000 clients.
He said: “We’ve enabled people who previously couldn’t deal with the world to go out and be social. We get involved with their entire lives, we know them in depths that most professionals never will, so we not only know the individual problem I’ve been asked to address, we also get to know how the person has got to where they are.
“We never discharge, once somebody’s made contact with us, they’re ours for life, they may not need us all the time, but they can come back whenever they feel the need, even if it’s just for a brew or a chat.” We’re always there ready to go if they pick up the phone, and this phone is on 24 hours a day, seven days a week.”
The drop-in sessions provide free tea and coffee and biscuits to help people relax in a safe space without judgment.
“Relax with other autistic people in an environment where you can be sure you’re not going to get picked on because you’re different, because you are not.”
They urge anyone who wants to find out more to pop down: “If somebody wants to come down and dive straight in, that’s fine, if somebody wants to come down and sit and listen, that’s fine.
“Come down, have a brew and a biscuit, see what you think, we make no expectations of anybody, other than don’t start a fight!”
The drop-in meetings take place on the second Thursday of every month in Eccles from 1-5pm and the first Friday of every month in Manchester’s Northern Quarter from 1-5pm.
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