Who are the Autism Education Trust (AET)?  

The Autism Education Trust (AET) is a partnership set up by two national charities, the National Autistic Society and Ambitious about Autism. It is partly funded by the Department for Education. The AET’s mission is to empower the education workforce and support them in securing a positive education that supports wellbeing for all autistic children and young people.  

In order to support pupils in education, the AET asks for expert insight from the AET Board Members and the Autistic Young Experts panel. 

What is the AET Autistic Young Experts Panel? 

The AET Autistic Young Experts is a group of autistic 16-25-year-olds, who meet online on the last Monday of every month at 5:15pm-6:45pm. The group add their voice and life experience to AET projects and input into the strategy of the AET. In addition to the monthly meetings, other opportunities may arise that the panel can work on as a group or individually.   

In the past, the panel have also been involved in activities such as, speaking at events, co-delivering training, sharing their experiences with professionals in film and contributing to national consultations and research projects.  

AET Autistic Young Experts are also Youth Advisors. Youth Advisors are a group of up to 50 autistic young people between the ages of 16-25 that is hosted on the Ambitious Youth Network. Youth Advisors can access paid opportunities. They are paid hourly (£18.25 per hour).  

Autistic Young Expert panel members, facilitated by Ambitious about Autism, are also Youth Advisors, so they receive the same pay.  

As an AET Autistic Young Expert panel member, you can also apply for additional paid opportunities as a Youth Advisor. 

You can find out more about the Autistic Young Experts and what they do here: https://www.autismeducationtrust.org.uk/about/autistic-young-experts-panel  

How to apply 

To be an AET Autistic Young Expert you must be between 16-25 years old. If you are interested in joining the panel, please apply using the following form. This form includes a few questions for you to answer. You can submit your answers in whatever format suits you best. This could be paragraphs, bullet points, or you may submit audio/video answers. 

There are 7 spaces available on the panel. Our current Autistic Young Experts will be reviewing your applications which will be anonymised. 

The application deadline is Monday 18th March 2024. 

More information 

If you have any questions, please contact the Programme Manager, Hannah: