Who we are and how we work
We are here to transform lives and change attitudes to help create a society that works for autistic people.
Our people
Over 3,000 people work for the National Autistic Society in our schools and services as well as our training, fundraising, policy and campaigns teams.
Our leadership team
Led by our Chief Executive, Caroline Stevens, our strategic management group of seven directors is accountable to the Board of Trustees.
Our trustees
Our Board of Trustees give their time, experience and expertise for free and are responsible for making sure our charity is doing what it was set up to do.
Our Patron and President
Our Patron, HRH The Countess of Wessex, has worked with us since 2003 to help create a society that works for autistic people.
Our impact
Scroll through the carousel below to see some of our impact highlights. You can also read our annual reports here.

75% of the UK population live within 20 miles of one of our branches.

In 2009, we successfully campaigned for the Government to introduce an Autism Act in England.

52 organisations have been awarded our Autism Friendly Award.

Over 10,000 shops and businesses take part in our annual Autism Hour.

We advise and support on autism-friendly shows such as The Lion King and Matilda.

We have 116 volunteer-led local branches across the UK.

We run the UK's largest online community for autistic people and their families.

We run over 40 conferences, seminars and training programmes a year.

We currently have seven specialist schools.

In 1991, we set up our first diagnosis service and now diagnose over 190 people a year.

In 1997, we set up our EarlyBird training programme for parents of autistic children.

Our free Education Rights Service has helped over 37,000 families since it began in 2000.

Our contact centre and helplines reply to over 70,000 enquiries a year.

We have over 23,000 members, making us the UK's largest charity for autistic people.

In 1965, we set up the world's first autism-specific school.

We have over 70 social care services for adults across the UK.

Our Too Much Information campaign has reached over 60 million people around the world.

In 1997, we set up the UK's first helpline for autistic people and their families.

5.5 million people visited our website in 2019.
Fighting for autistic people's rights since 1962
Watch this film with one of our founders, Michael Baron, and autistic film maker, Robert John Windows, discussing the early days of the charity.