Include Me
SWAN is excited to share an update on our Include Me project!
Include Me is an ambitious project funded by the Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing to tackle the systemic barriers faced by autistic and other neurodivergent people.
We are making that the programme is co-designed and delivered in partnership with other autistic and neurodivergent people, making sure that Autistic expertise and perspective is at the forefront of the project.
Include Me is about making sure that professional services and supports are inclusive and accessible for autistic and other neurodivergent people.
Imagine needing to visit the hospital, a school, or the police station, but the environment itself causes intense stress or prevents you from communicating effectively. Many professional services – including healthcare, education, justice, and emergency services – were simply not built with neurodivergent needs in mind.
The ‘Include Me’ programme aims to address this by challenging negative stereotypes and tackling attitudinal barriers within these key professional workforces, starting with education, health, disability care and support and justice.
The goal is to equip these sectors with the specific knowledge and tools they need to become safer and more welcoming. At the heart of the ‘Include Me’ programme is a Certification Framework. Organisations can register for Bronze, Silver, or Gold certification levels by making specific changes to their environment and staff training.
These changes are not arbitrary; they are based on established international best practices, specifically the UK PAS 6463 Neurodiversity Design Standard. The standard gives us the technical rules for things like lighting, acoustics, and wayfinding – all essential elements for creating neurodiversity-affirming environments.
We are also creating a suite of practical resources to help neurodivergent people access services safely. These include at least 10 social stories and six video walkthroughs, along with an accessibility toolkit. Because the entire process is founded on co-production, we will establish two core, paid teams comprised of neurodivergent people and their families from across Western Australia, a codesign panel and an advisory panel to co-produce the work and provide governance and strategic oversight.
Although all activities will be delivered in WA (predominantly South West WA), the resources and training will be made available to people Australia wide via online access.
The immediate focus is completing the certification framework (due by 28th February 2026) and beginning the pilots. By the end of the programme, we aim to have engaged at least 30 professional services, with targets of 25 achieving Bronze, 10 achieving Silver, and 5 achieving Gold certification in access and inclusion for Autistic and neurodivergent people.
By putting the people who use the services in charge of redesigning them, the ‘Include Me’ programme seeks to create long-lasting improvements in access and attitudes.
