We are a group of autistic adults that created a self-advocacy to support autistic people in Portugal.
We want to promote the acceptance and inclusion of autistic people in their communities, and be a platform to give voice to people on the Autism Spectrum and their loved ones.
Around 90% of autistic people have difficulties with sensory stimuli, which have a psychological, physical and social impact. Dear Ocean, an inclusive clothing brand, in partnership with Associação Portuguesa Voz do Autista, developed a collection for autistic adults that met the specific difficulties reported by autistic adults; the result, the Infinity collection, is available at Dear Ocean website.
Based on the excellent acceptance of the proposals created and placed on the market, we now intend to deepen this partnership and make it even more inclusive. Hence, there is now the possibility of creating a line for children between the age group of 4 to 12 years. In that context, we are asking your feedback via the questionnaires on the right, to know what are your specific needs. You can answer for children, or for future lines for adults!
Support groups operate in cycles of 3 months each, where each session has a theme chosen by the participants. Registration is free. The next cycle starts on the 17th of September and takes place on Saturdays at 5:30 pm, every 2 weeks. We also have a Discord channel where autistic people, family/carers and professionals can talk. Currently, we only have it in Portuguese, but our discord channel does have an english channel.
Testimonies:
“This group helped me discover that I am autistic. I feel more and more comfortable being myself, I’m making new friends and I finally have a safe space where I don’t have to mask”
“I believe this is the best Autistic support group ever created at national level, even if it is little known and I would like others to know it too.”
We provide trainings in:
– Autism awareness for the general public, companies, schools and others
– Employment and workplace adaptations for autistic inclusion for companies
– Autism in schools and universities and classroom adaptations for inclusion
– Autistic crisis approach and support in emergency situations for emergency and public safety authorities
– Strategies to support autistic-specific difficulties for parents and autistic people
– Autism diagnosis and traits for healthcare and education professionals
And others.
All our trainings are developed by autistic adults, family members and carers and health professionals and/or education professionals, depending on the topic and expertise.
We are available to develop customized training according to your needs and training time (Portuguese or English). If you are interested in our training, please contact geral@vozdoautista.pt.
Sensory Clothing for Adults – Dear Ocean Partnership
Cerca de 90% dos autistas têm dificuldades com sensibilidades sensoriais e cerca de 83% têm dificuldades motoras. A sensibilidade sensorial aos estímulos do dia a dia tem um impacto psicológico, físico e social.
Around 90% of autistic people have difficulties with sensory issues and around 83% have motor skills difficulties. Sensory issues to everyday stimuli has a psychological, physical and social impact.
Clothing should be easy to wear, comfortable and with less sensory stimuli, such as labels, seams and others that could cause overwhelm.
Dear Ocean decided to accept our challenge and developed a clothing line, based on questionnaires we developed with autistic people and their families about their difficulties with clothes. The Infinity collection includes clothing that is sensory friendly and with easy to wear shapes.
Do you suspect you may be autistic or know someone who may be autistic but don’t know what to do next?
See more information about Autistic traits in children and adults, and what to do if you suspect you have autism.
In the context of the need to include and guarantee support to autistic people and their family members in the humanitarian response to Ukraine, a brief guide “Supporting autistic people in crisis situations”, developed by EUCAP (European Council of Autistic People), of which we are affiliated, and Autisme Europe was developed. In this file we provide some information about what Autism is, how to recognize it, how to help and where you can find more information. It is available in several languages, some AAC material, information on what to do and who to contact for support. You can also join Ukraine Autism Help group online to find different support offers by country in accomodation, transports, autism help, etc.
Autism is not an illness. Autism is a neurodevelopmental condition, which means that our brains developed differently than non-autistic people.. Learn more about Autism here.
We are developing several projects and services within the community. Learn more about what we are doing.
You can help us by donating to
PT50 0035 036100002794630 60
geral@vozdoautista.pt
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