A group of local advocates across Co Monaghan are highlighting the importance of making communities more inclusive for people with autism.
Conor O'Neill is the chairperson of the Monaghan Autism Friendly Committee and also co-founded an autism social group for adults.
The local advocate said it's very powerful to have an autistic person like himself who is at the helm of an autism friendly committee as it lets people know that autistic people can go out and lead.
Conor alongside his committee members are on a mission to provide safe spaces for young people to fully engage and be part of the local community.
The local man said it's important to ensure that all neuro divergent and autistic people are given the same opportunities as other people across Co Monaghan, adding that you can only bridge a gap by inclusion not exclusion.
Adam McPhillips is a qualified accountant with Colleran Accountants and is also a member of the Monaghan Autism Friendly Committee.
He said it's important to close the gap and get people to understand that autistic people and non-autistic people are more similar than they think.
While Adam found school difficult, he believes going into employment as an autistic person was even harder because he felt like he had to mask for 40-50 hours per week.
He said trying to be someone you're not as an autistic person for that length of time is extremely challenging.
Alison McGonnell is also on the committee. Alison joined after taking a trip to Disneyland Paris with her son Harry who has autism. Alison was aware of the barriers that children with autism face every day, however on the family holiday she discovered that France was way in front of Monaghan when it came to overcoming these barriers.
As a result, she wanted to join the group in order to make the changes that were needed in Monaghan and to help those who have autism in our communities.
She believes through the Monaghan Autism Friendly Committee, people with autism can discover that there’s other ways to socialise and they can 100% be themselves.
A number of autism social gathering events have been taking place in social settings like coffee shops right across Co Monaghan.
The events have been organised by members of the Monaghan Autism Friendly Committee which are hoping to bridge the societal gap between those who have autism and those who don't.
Jodie Curran went along to a recent event which was held in An Nead coffee shop in Monaghan Town and she brought back this report.
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