Applications are now OPEN for fully-funded therapy!

We are providing fully-funded PACT intervention to families in Greater Manchester. This involves 12 one-hour sessions, plus three sessions for the child’s nursery or school setting, and is worth over £1300 per family.

If you would like to be placed on a waiting list, please fill in the form below. We can only provide funded places to families on a lower income (i.e. on certain benefits such as Universal Credit), whose child will be aged five or under at the time therapy begins, and who live in Greater Manchester. We have very limited spaces available.

Please read the information below before applying:

Spectrum Connection CIC is a neurodiversity-affirming organisation. All the directors and everyone we so far employ are autistic. This means:

  • We do not talk about deficits, impairments, behaviours, improvement – instead we talk about strengths, and the meaning behind what we see children doing. We believe that all of children’s actions have a meaning, and it is our job as adults to work that out. Through the working out, we intend to form a deeper connection with our children.
  • We use identity-first language – we say “autistic” rather than “has autism” because we see autism in either a positive or neutral light. We believe that autistic people are fine the way they are, but that we as adults need to do the work to ensure our autistic children are as comfortable and happy as they can be, and find pride in their autistic identity.
  • The goals for therapy are to support children’s communication skills, their ability to advocate for themselves, their wellbeing and reduce their levels of distress and anxiety. Goals for therapy are NOT to train the child (e.g. getting them to make more eye contact, sit down, point at things, learn colours, or respond to requests), get the child to engage in adult-led activities, or play in particular ways. PACT is all about following the child’s interests, understanding them, and about adults learning to play in ways that matter to the child.

Here is an example of a non-neurodiversity-affirming therapy and adult-led play (which PACT is NOT encouraging):

And please see this video for some examples of families we have worked with where the play IS child-led:

Application form:

By submitting this application form, you are agreeing that we can contact you regarding your application. This is also on the understanding that you may not be offered therapy, due to the small number of spaces available and high level of demand for this service.