We are proud to run inclusive, supportive events for autistic people, neurodivergent people, families, carers and the wider community. Our community cafés, activity days, walking groups and social gatherings are designed to be welcoming, safe and positive spaces where everyone feels respected, valued and heard.
We ask everyone to read and follow these guidelines carefully. By attending a London Autism Group Charity event, you are agreeing to follow these expectations.
Non-compliance may result in a warning, being asked to leave an event, temporary suspension, or permanent exclusion from our events where this is necessary to protect the safety, dignity and wellbeing of participants, staff, volunteers or members of the public.

1. Respect and Kindness

• Treat everyone, including attendees, staff and volunteers, with kindness, patience and respect.
• Listen to others and allow space for everyone to contribute, especially those who may find it harder to speak up.

• Avoid making critical, dismissive or harmful remarks about other people, or about autism and neurodivergence in general. We are a pro-neurodiversity space that supports the social model of disability, and we ask all attendees to honour that.
• If you strongly disagree with someone, that is ok, but please try to express yourself calmly and in ways that are not attacking, dismissive or intimidating.

 

2. Safe and Inclusive Communication

• Do not use language or express views that are abusive, discriminatory, threatening, degrading, harassing, or reasonably likely to cause distress. This includes comments or behaviour relating to race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, disability, religion, age, identity or any other protected or personal characteristic.
• Please remember that children and young people may be present at some of our events. Language, behaviour and topics of conversation must always be appropriate for the setting and the people present.
• Many of our participants are vulnerable, even if this is not immediately visible. Emotional and psychological safety is just as important as physical safety.
• We understand that some people experience distress, anxiety, trauma, overwhelm or mental health challenges. If you are feeling overwhelmed or upset, please speak to a member of the team if you feel able to, or take some quiet time out.
• Everyone is entitled to their own views and personal experiences. You are welcome to share your perspective, but no one should pressure, confront or challenge others
for holding different opinions, especially in ways that feel forceful, intrusive or intimidating.
• Avoid confrontational or ideological debates, especially around controversial topics. Our events are not spaces for debating the legitimacy of people’s identities, personal experiences or rights. Topics related to gender identity, sexual orientation, religion, politics or other sensitive issues must be approached with extreme care and only where they are directly relevant and clearly welcome in the moment.
• Repeatedly raising contentious, distressing or triggering topics, even without intending to offend, can harm others and compromise the inclusive nature of the space. If in doubt, it is usually best not to bring it up.
• We reject gatekeeping around identity. No one should be challenged or invalidated for how they describe or understand their neurodivergence or identity. Whether someone has a formal diagnosis or not, they are welcome to self-identify and be accepted fully here.
• Participants who frequently raise triggering, controversial or distressing views in a way that affects the wellbeing of others may be asked not to return.
• If you have any safeguarding concerns at any of our events, please let a member of the team know or email us at contact@londonautismgroupcharity.org. We will always take concerns seriously and work to address them in a safe, sensitive and confidential way. Where appropriate, safeguarding information may also be shared with relevant authorities or organisations to ensure the safety and wellbeing of all involved.
 

3. Sharing Space and Expressing Yourself
 

• Please respect other people’s physical boundaries and personal space. This includes allowing people to finish ongoing conversations before interrupting.
• Do not touch others without their clear consent. Physical contact, however well-meaning, may cause distress or trigger trauma responses in others. Always assume others prefer no contact unless they initiate or explicitly agree.
• Safeguarding is a collective responsibility. If someone asks you to stop engaging, you must immediately respect that boundary. Continued unwanted interaction may result in removal from the event.
• We take reports of persistent boundary-crossing, unwanted attention, harassment, intrusive behaviour, or behaviour that makes others feel unsafe very seriously.
• Please allow event facilitators to support all participants fairly. Avoid dominating conversations, monopolising staff or volunteers, or seeking the full one-to-one attention of organisers, as this may prevent others from receiving the support they need.
• If you believe you will need a high level of one-to-one support to attend safely, please speak to us in advance so we can explore what is possible.

4. Parents, Carers and Support Workers

• Parents, carers, family members and support workers who attend with another person remain responsible for supervising and supporting that person throughout the event.
• London Autism Group Charity staff and volunteers cannot be treated as replacement carers, personal assistants, behavioural support workers or one-to-one support workers unless this has been clearly agreed with us in advance.
• If you are attending with someone who needs supervision, support with safety, help with boundaries, or active support to take part, you must remain attentive, competent and close enough to intervene when needed. This includes, but is not limited to:

o arrival and departure

o conversations and group activities

o breaks and unstructured social time

o outdoor walks

o road crossings

o travel between locations

o toilets, cafés, shops or other public spaces

o moments where the person you support becomes distressed, dysregulated, unsafe or intrusive towards others

• You must not leave the person you are supporting unsupervised unless this has been explicitly agreed with the event lead and it is safe to do so.
• LAGC volunteers and staff may offer general welcome, signposting, group facilitation and reasonable support within the limits of the event. However, they cannot provide personal care, clinical support, behavioural intervention, crisis support, transport supervision, or one-to-one supervision unless this has been specifically agreed in advance.
• If a parent, carer or support worker is not supervising adequately, or if the person they are supporting behaves in a way that creates risk or significant concern, the event lead may give one clear warning. This warning will normally explain what needs to change immediately. For example: “You need to stay close to X and actively supervise them. If this happens again, we will need you both to leave today.”
• If the concern continues after this warning, the parent, carer or support worker and the person they are supporting may be asked to leave the event.
• In more serious situations, London Autism Group Charity may ask someone to leave immediately without a warning. This includes, but is not limited to:

o serious risk to the person, other attendees, staff, volunteers or members of the public

o aggression, threats, intimidation or harassment

o discriminatory, abusive or degrading behaviour

o sexualised behaviour, inappropriate touching or serious boundary violations

o unsafe behaviour near roads, transport, water, crowds or other hazards

o a person leaving the group or event space in a way that creates significant safety concern

o a parent, carer or support worker being unable or unwilling to supervise safely

o behaviour that causes significant distress or makes others feel unsafe

o any safeguarding, safety or wellbeing concern that requires immediate action
 

• Where needed, London Autism Group Charity may pause or refuse future attendance until a safer support plan is agreed. This may include asking for further information before attendance, requiring a competent parent, carer or support worker to attend, requiring a different carer or supporter, or deciding that a particular person cannot attend future events.
• Failure to tell us about relevant supervision needs, support needs, known risks or previous serious incidents may affect whether someone can attend future events.
 

5. Safety, Risk and Behaviour at Events

• Everyone attending our events has a responsibility to behave in a way that supports the safety and wellbeing of others.
• Please follow instructions from event leads, staff, volunteers, venue staff or emergency services where these relate to safety, safeguarding, access, security or the smooth running of the event.
• You may be asked to stop a behaviour, move away from another person, take a break, remain with your supporter, leave a particular area, or leave the event entirely if this is needed to manage risk or protect others.
• Examples of behaviour that may lead to a warning, removal from an event, suspension or exclusion include:
 

o aggression, shouting, threats or intimidation

o harassment, bullying or repeated unwanted contact

o discriminatory or degrading comments

o sexualised comments, sexualised behaviour or inappropriate touching

o repeated boundary-crossing

o following, cornering or pressuring another person

o unsafe behaviour around roads, transport, water, crowds, stairs or other hazards

o refusing to follow reasonable safety instructions

o causing significant distress to other attendees

o behaviour that places staff, volunteers or participants in an unsafe or unreasonable position

o attending while under the influence of alcohol or drugs in a way that affects safety or behaviour

o bringing dangerous items to an event

o any behaviour that raises serious safeguarding, welfare or safety concerns
 

• Where there is immediate danger, LAGC may contact emergency services.
• Where an incident raises safeguarding, health and safety, data protection, insurance or organisational concerns, LAGC may record the incident and take follow-up action.
 

6. Accountability and Learning Together

• We all make mistakes. If someone gives you gentle feedback about something you have said or done, we ask that you try to listen with an open mind.
• If your behaviour causes concern, we may speak with you during or after the event. This is not always intended as a punishment. Sometimes it is to clarify expectations, support safer participation, or prevent future issues.
• However, where behaviour causes significant or repeated concern, LAGC may take stronger action. This may include:
 

o a verbal warning

o a written warning

o being asked to leave an event

o a temporary pause from attending events

o a requirement to attend with a suitable supporter

o a support or attendance plan

o exclusion from one or more LAGC activities

o permanent exclusion from LAGC events

o referral or information-sharing where safeguarding or legal duties apply
 

• If a participant has previously received a warning and further breaches occur, they may be excluded from future events.
• Safeguarding concerns may result in immediate suspension while we review the situation.
• We reserve the right to ask someone not to attend further events if their presence is having a consistently negative impact on the safety, dignity, accessibility or wellbeing of others.

 

7. A Community Built on Mutual Support

• We are a peer-led charity rooted in compassion, mutual understanding and solidarity. We are here to support one another, and that means holding ourselves and each other to a reasonable standard of care.
• If you feel uncomfortable, unsafe, pressured, distressed or worried about something you have witnessed, please speak to a member of the organising team in confidence.
• We will take concerns seriously and respond as proportionately and sensitively as possible.

8. Important Note About the Limitations of Support

Our events are community, peer-support and social spaces. They are not regulated care services, clinical services, crisis services, respite services, childcare services or specialist behavioural support services.
Please be aware that our team are not mental health crisis workers, emergency responders, clinicians, personal carers or replacement support workers.
While we do our best to listen, include people, make reasonable adjustments and signpost people to appropriate support, we cannot provide:

• clinical or emergency mental health care

• personal care

• childcare

• respite care

• physical restraint

• one-to-one supervision

• transport supervision

• crisis intervention

• risk management for someone who needs a dedicated carer or support worker

If you or the person you support may need this level of support, please contact us before attending so we can discuss whether the event is suitable and what arrangements would be needed.

If you are in crisis or there is immediate danger, please contact emergency services, your GP, NHS 111, local crisis services, or a mental health support organisation such as Samaritans or Mind.

Thank you for helping us make London Autism Group Charity events safe, welcoming, uplifting and empowering spaces for everyone.