World Autism Awareness Day takes place on Thursday 2 April and we wanted to remind local residents of the support available to autistic people in Torbay.

Designated by the United Nations General Assembly in 2007, World Autism Awareness Day this year focuses on a theme of ‘Autism and Humanity – Every Life Has Value.’ The theme aims to highlight and affirm the dignity and worth of all autistic people as part of our shared human future. The National Autistic Society also observes World Autism Acceptance Month.

Leader of Torbay Council David Thomas said: “Here in Torbay we are proud to support autistic people and during the last 18 months we have co-produced the Torbay Adults Autism Strategy with our fantastic Torbay Autism Partnership Board, Autism Ambassadors and wider community, which was adopted in December 2025.

“I had the pleasure of attending the Partnership Board in January and I was very impressed with the ongoing commitment and passion from the Board for making positive changes for autistic people in Torbay.

“World Autism Awareness Day is the ideal opportunity to remind everyone of the help we have here in Torbay for autistic people in the Bay, and in addition to our Autism Strategy, our colleagues here in adult social care are currently working on a co-produced Action Plan with the Autism Ambassadors which will be finalised by the summer.”

Autism Support in Torbay

One of the key themes the Torbay Autism Ambassadors will be focusing on this year, is raising awareness and understanding of autism, which is a golden thread that runs through the strategy.

The Ambassadors themselves have developed a useful guide to map out the support available for autistic adults, which can be found on the Torbay Council website.

Torbay Leisure Card is also available to those who are autistic and hold an autism alert card (these can be obtained for free through the Dimensions for Autism website). The leisure card gets you discounted entry to lots of local indoor and outdoor sport and activities. 

There are also a wide range of helpful and informative resources on the Autism Partnership Board webpages on the Torbay Council website, such as information on the Torbay Autism Partnership Board, events, health passports, carers support and signposting. 

One of Torbay’s Autism Ambassadors, Zac, took part in a video last year to talk about his role as an Autism Ambassador and how Adult Social Care Services in Torbay have helped him. You can watch Zac’s story on our Torbay Council YouTube channel.

Useful links

Autism Partnership Board – services for people with Autism in Torbay.  

World Autism Day website.

National Autistic Society website.