We Exist

We have been asked to leave the garden.

What is happening at the garden mirrors the general blindness that exists in relation to autistic people nationwide, as the NAS* has clearly marked out in their campaign, “I exist”



1. Who we are: We are a self-help group of autistic and dyslexic people who manage a garden environment; gardening, cooking and making sculptures and art-works together; sharing time by doing things.

2. How long have we existed for? We have existed for seven years, since 2001. This was the year when we found this piece of abandoned land to the side of NCH National Children’s Head Office in Highbury and begun to work on it.

3. What do we run there? We run an informal club for adults every Tuesday morning and a club for children with high needs every other Sunday morning.

4. Is the club open for non-autistic people? Yes. In the beginning we maintained a quiet space solely for autistic people. People on the spectrum could come to the garden on their own and make a sculpture/do gardening or could attend the club. This is how we first built up links between people. We made “transitional” sculptures which could be changed and added to by different people who may not meet in person but who would leave marks for one another through the sculptures. Later as we grew in confidence, we opened the club to local people and to members of the Peter Bedford ex-psychiatric unit next door. Informal support networks began to grow.

5. Why have you been asked to leave the garden? NCH have decided to move their main office from this site and are working with the council to gain planning permission for a housing development.

6. Have you been included in this consultation process? No. We found out by chance. In the brief we are not mentioned and on the map we are unmarked although we are within the grounds of the proposed site.

7. What is the date you are meant to leave? Our contract runs out on 30th September 2008

8. What will happen then? At present we have nowhere else to go. We do not know if the council is actually aware that We Exist.