Dear AMASE members,

Happy New Year! As things are getting back to usual we have hit a particularly cold spell, great for those of us who enjoy crisp days and flutterings of snow. Do keep warm and safe.

In this newsletter we have quite a busy start to the year with a few AMASE events coming up. We have a couple of our regular events - bouldering at Alien Rock and a body-doubling session. We are also holding a virtual tech chat and a session to introduce the AMASE Discord for those who are not that familiar with it and would like to find out more. We are joining up with our friends at ARGH Scotland to host Lightning Talks. We have also included a couple of other items that we think will be of interest.

We would like to draw your attention to the last item in this newsletter that provides an update about the Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee’s review into Neurodivergence in Scotland. To help inform our evidence we have created a survey for members to complete.

With very best wishes for the start of 2026!

Fiona, Leo, Gideon, Fergus, Elly, Pete and Luis.

1. Regular AMASE Bouldering Trips – Alien Bloc
2. AMASE body doubling session, 2026-01-14, 7-8:30pm
3. ARGH/AMASE Lightning Talks event, 2026-01-22, 7:30-8:30pm
4. AMASE Virtual Tech Chat, 2026-01-28, 8-9pm 
5. Welcome to AMASE Discord, 2026-01-29, 7-8pm
6. Number 6 Autism One Stop Shop January Calendar
7. Autism Central Webinar “Growing into Ourselves, Autistic Identity and Autistic Joy”, Kieran Rose, 2026-01-23
8. Autscape 2026 online and in-person dates announced
9. Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee’s inquiry into Neurodivergence in Scotland update and members survey

AMASE events:

1. Regular AMASE Bouldering Trips – Alien Bloc

Our fortnightly informal bouldering sessions at Alien Bloc, Canonmills, continue with the next one on Saturday 10th January at 11:30am. No experience is required. Entry is £13 (plus £3.50 shoe hire if needed). If you're thinking of coming, do let us know by signing up on Luma, link here: https://luma.com/gh94wrj5 

2. AMASE body doubling session, 2026-01-14, 7-8:30pm 

We are now running regular body doubling sessions on the second Wednesday of each month. Body doubling is where a person works in the physical or virtual presence of one or more other people, to help with task initiation and focus. Our last session saw people working on a range of different tasks, including phoning a friend, writing an email, hoovering and tidying the kitchen. There was a general feeling that one hour felt a bit short, so we are increasing these sessions by 30 minutes.

Our next session is 14th January from 7-8:30pm online on Zoom for AMASE members. You can see information on how we are proposing the session will run, and to sign up if you would like to attend here: https://luma.com/6d461q7l 

3. ARGH/AMASE Lightning Talks event, 2026-01-22, 7:30-8:30pm

On Thursday, 22nd of January, 7:30-8:30pm GMT, we are running a Lightning Talks event in collaboration with ARGH Scotland.

​This will be a space for autistic and other neurodivergent folk to infodump about any topic they are fascinated by, and share the joy - of course, everyone is also welcome to just attend and enjoy!

​If you would like to attend, please sign up here: https://luma.com/zh49tltt 

If you want to give a short talk of up to around 7 minutes long, please sign up via this form: https://forms.gle/nVt4Gti9wVUjuqti6

4. AMASE members Virtual Tech Chat, 2026-01-28, 8-9pm 

Members in our Discord server have started informal tech chats for those working in, playing with or learning tech (computer programming, systems administration, internet, accessibility etc). The next one is Wed 28th January at 8pm. You can bring a topic you want to discuss. Beginners welcome. 

Register at https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/gyeN0Bw6Sd-KvRKTUseUHQ or check out the ⁠#tech channel on Discord for more information.

5. Welcome to AMASE Discord, 2026-01-29, 7-8pm

We are excited to be welcoming more and more new members to the AMASE Discord, a space for members to connect online. Not everyone is familiar with Discord, so our Moderators are holding a session for those that would like a tour and explanation of how the server works and its purpose. There will be the opportunity to ask any questions. 

This event is for AMASE members only, whether or not already on Discord, and will be held on Thursday 29th January 7-8pm. If you would like to attend, you can register here: https://luma.com/l5s80iwc 

Other events:

6. Number 6 Autism One Stop Shop January Calendar

The Number 6 January calendar listing groups and activities they will be running this month can be seen here:

https://autisminitiatives.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/January-Calendar-2026.pdf 

7. Autism Central Webinar “Growing into Ourselves, Autistic Identity and Autistic Joy”, Kieran Rose, 2026-01-23

This is the latest webinar in a series by Autism Central for autistic people of all ages and their supporters. On Friday 23rd January 12-1pm Kieran Rose, The Autistic Advocate, will talk about how Autistic identity develops, why it matters, and how it supports wellbeing. The Webinar is free and is usually recorded. You can register here:

https://www.autismcentral.org.uk/events/growing-ourselves-autistic-identity-and-autistic-joy 

8. Autscape 2026 dates online and in-person dates announced

Autscape is a UK conference run by and for autistic people, and the dates for 2026 have just been released. The organisers have yet to announce information about cost or how to register, so we will let you know once these have been announced. For now these are dates for diaries.

Online Autscape 2026 “Evolving Autistic Space Online” will be held 6-8 February on Zoom and Discord. The organisers are accepting proposals for any type of presentation for those wishing to speak at this conference. The deadline for proposals is 16th January and a link for details is here: https://www.autscape.org/2026/online/cfp

In-person Autscape 2026 “Autism and Neurodiversity in Society” will be held on 17-20 August at High Leigh conference centre, Hertfordshire, UK and details about calls for proposals and registration will be announced at a later date.

https://www.autscape.org/

We hope to see some of you there!

Other:

8. Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee’s inquiry into Neurodivergence in Scotland update and members survey

The Scottish Parliament Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice (EHRCJ) Committee has begun its inquiry into Neurodivergence in Scotland. AMASE and a number of other organisations, including Autistic People’s Organisations have been invited to give evidence on 20 January. They are focusing on three areas only due to the short timeframe remaining in the current parliament: education, criminal justice and the work place. 

We wish to give our members an opportunity to input and have created a survey to do this. Whilst responses will be kept anonymous and be used to inform what we say, not all individual experiences may get used. We appreciate the time-frame is short for such complex areas. We did not get a lot of notice and, whilst we have asked for the questions that the EHRCJ Committee will ask on each topic, we have not yet received them.

You can complete the survey here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc0fcjbsPjXbiMUtDlUtmohNfeAtoeIQ878l8RN75t44ZV5ng/viewform 

AMASE is currently a volunteer run association. If you feel financially able to do so, you can donate to AMASE via PayPal Donate. Thank you for the donations we have received, they will go a long way.

P.S. Apologies if this is the first AMASE newsletter you have received in two or three months - we have had technical issues with our newsletter platform, which are hopefully now resolved!