The café in Old Street, part of the London Autism Charity, opened its doors on Sunday

AN autism support café is fundraising for a bigger space after its opening.

The new café, which offers peer support for autistic people and parents of autistic children, launched on Sunday in the Vibast Community Centre in Old Street.

Although the doors are freshly open, its founder Juliana Lottmann, is in search of a sponsor to expand its services.

“The café gives you that emotional support – knowing you’re not alone, that other people are going through the same thing and there’s no need to feel ashamed or let it affect your mental health,” said Ms Lottmann, who has an autistic son.

Ms Lottmann struggled to get her son’s school to take his needs seriously.

“The school worked very hard to dismiss me, to make me feel as if I’m crazy or trying to find problems where they don’t exist. This was terrible for both my mental health and my child’s.

“When I started talking to other parents, I realised my horror story is actually peanuts in comparison with what other people are going through. So, I felt this very strong need – ‘If I cannot help these people because I can’t work in the Department for Education, let me at least give them a space for peer support and give them the mental health support they need’,” said Ms Lottmann.

The café, which is open to people of all neurodiversities, is part of the London Autism Group Charity  which runs a number of cafés around London. Ms Lottmann says the café is looking for sponsors to allow them to expand into different rooms – one for mindfulness and meditation, a quiet space for those with sensory needs, and a room for a volunteer to teach Makaton, a language that uses a mix of symbols, signs, and speech.

Teddy Munepsi Bullen was diagnosed with ADHD during the pandemic and has since noticed autistic traits in herself.

“I started volunteering here because I was looking to find a community and help people because I understand how hard it can be to find support and to just feel accepted.

“Parents have their own realm of difficulties in terms of accessing support for their children, but equally for adults or teenagers who are autistic, having somewhere to go and feeling like OK, cool: ‘This is a safe place for me to go. I don’t have to stress about anyone making fun of me or anything like that,’” said Ms Munepsi Bullen.

She added: “I’m mixed-race as well, and often people who are mixed-race get lumped into one area of their identity. There’s definitely a real niche group here who really definitely need some support in places where their whole identity is accepted and understood.”

Michele Dawes-Jenkins attended the café with autistic son.

“It’s really nice to see that my son can see that he’s not the only person in the world who thinks differently.

“He was able to see and understand that there are lots of different types of people who are autistic, and it’s a really safe environment for him because everybody knows what an autistic person’s needs are. It’s just really saying ‘You can have a cup of tea and you don’t have to worry about anything while you’re there’,” she said