It’s World Autism Awareness Week (29 March – 4 April), which is marked in the UK by the National Autistic Society, with tomorrow (2 April) being World Autism Awareness Day.
Go North East is continuing work with the Sunflower lanyard scheme to recognise hidden disabilities such as autism, which is a lifelong developmental disability which affects how people communicate and interact with the world around them.
In the UK alone there are around 700,000 adults and children on the autism spectrum.
As well as the Sunflower lanyard scheme, Go North East is also raising awareness of autism across its workforce.
A number of autistic people find a particular interest in transport and Go North East help support such interests by publishing regular fleet and service news on the enthusiast section of its website.
The company also engage with local special interest groups such as the Northern Group Enthusiasts Club and the North East Bus Preservation Society who plan and organise various bus rally events across the region.
Martijn Gilbert, managing director at Go North East, said: “Through our One Team GNE colleague and community engagement initiative our team are doing more work than ever to recognise and embrace inclusivity and diversity matters.
“This includes raising better awareness of some of the challenges our customer may face and how we can all work together better.
“Our work with the Sunflower lanyard scheme is a great example of our efforts to recognise hidden disabilities such as autism, but for World Autism Awareness Week we’re also starting a conversation about autism to further educate and inform people about it.”