AsIAm and Dublin City Council launch landmark autism-friendly vision
The Dublin City Autism Friendly Action Plan was officially launched at the Mansion House today.
As the roadmap toward Ireland’s Autism charity AsIAm and Dublin City Council’s commitment to turning the city into the first Autism Friendly Capital in the World , today’s launch highlighted the practical steps being put in place to turn that vision into a reality. Speaking at the launch, AsIAm founder and CEO Adam Harris said that Dublin is leading the way toward recognising, accommodating, and celebrating neurodiversity.
Launching during World Autism Month , Mr Harris noted the timing is appropriate, but emphasised that their high-level goals will ensure Dublin remains autism-friendly year-round. “This is a powerful opportunity for our community to shine a light on the barriers we face, to give voice to our experiences, and to educate others,” he said.
“World Autism Month provides lots of opportunities for sharing stuff on social media or putting out positive messaging around autism and then on May 1 life goes back to normal. What’s important about this initiative is Dublin City Council seizing World Autism Month to set out a vision, not just for a day, week, or month, but for every day in our city to be more inclusive and accessible for all.”
As a plan that recognises inclusion must be designed into the fabric of the city itself, Mr Harris stressed that this three-year action plan puts the voices and experiences of autistic people at the centre of their planning process, rather than as an afterthought, which is so often the case.
“If delivered with ambition, this plan has the potential not only to transform Dublin, but to set a new global standard for what it means to be an autism friendly city - one where autistic people are supported to participate fully and to thrive,” he said.
Lord May Ray McAdam said the plan highlights Dublin’s opportunity to lead the way internationally and showcase that “a truly modern city is one that sees every person, values every voice, and works every day to ensure that everyone can belong.” As a plan that’s rooted in partnership and listening directly to autistic people, he stressed this is about “more than policy.”
“It is about the kind of city we want Dublin to be. By working in close partnership with AsIAm, and by listening directly to autistic people and their families, we are helping to shape a capital that is more understanding, more accessible, and more compassionate.
“If we stay true to this vision, Dublin will not only become the first autism friendly capital city in the world, it will become something even greater: a city that leads with empathy, acts with purpose, and inspires others to build communities where every person has the chance to thrive.”
The ambition set out in the plan can be traced back to 2018, when Clonakilty became Ireland's First Autism Friendly town in Ireland. In 2023, Dublin City Council partnered with AsIAm to try to ensure all of Dublin can gain that honour.
Today, there are several autism-friendly areas across the capital that are setting the standard for accessibility and inclusion. These include Drumcondra, Ringsend, Irishtown, Pearse Street, Terenure, Dublin 12, and Ballyfermot.
Autism Friendly Champions are also being recruited all around Dublin, with training people to recognise and support the needs of autistic people being central to the plan. The initial aim is to recruit 60 champions, but ultimately they hope to have even more.
Attending the launch was Labour Party Cllr Alison Field who has been vocal about the need to prioritise school places for autistic children and, as the parent of an autistic child herself, sees the benefits of making the city more inclusive. According to Cllr Field, the most important thing about this plan is increasing awareness of autism for everyone.
“I’ve been in situations where my son will have a meltdown and nobody knows what to do. They don’t know whether they should come and help and you really do want help,” she said.
“Including everyone in the community is important. Most autistic people, even on the severe end, are aware of their situation and they understand. Just because they can’t speak doesn’t mean they don’t understand and anything we can do to support them is just fantastic for our city.”
From tackling misinformation to transforming the infrastructure of Dublin, this plan incorporates the needs of autistic people into all aspects of life. Autism-Friendly City Officer for Dublin City Maeve Gilmore previously spoke with Dublin Live about the six-high level goals that guide the plan and how they will impact and improve the lives of not just Autistic people but everyone in Dublin:
The Same Chance Report 2025 revealed that 90% of autistic people feel the general public in Dublin don’t understand enough about autism, 79% felt they don’t have the same chance to be themselves, 78% faced barriers forming friendships, and 40% found public transport to be inaccessible. These findings highlight a great need to champion autism advocacy.
Ms Gilmore explained that establishing a strong sense of community in Dublin city is “the backbone of this plan” and has fed into all of their work. From establishing Autism Friendly Town committees in each of the 11 local electorate areas to the formation of a Steering Committee chaired by the Lord Mayor, there are real bodies being put in place to turn the plan into a reality.
The recruitment and training of 60 Autism Friendly Champions around the city will also go a long way toward providing people with the tools and understanding they need to be the best advocates they can be. Ms Gilmore explained these champions will be spread across businesses, organisations, and the public sector. “Not only does that help autistic people thrive in society, but it also gives people who haven't had the opportunity to learn about autism the confidence to support those who may need it,” she said.
The public’s awareness of autism and neurodivergence has grown rapidly in recent years, but with this comes a rise in misinformation and a need to tackle long-standing stigma. That’s why Ms Gilmore believes they have to push beyond ‘awareness’ and move people toward genuine ‘understanding.’
The prevalence of misunderstanding, outdated narratives, or systemic discrimination has remained a challenge for the autistic community and Ms Gilmore said this is something they are actively pushing against. While the implementation of sensory gardens or dedicated quiet spaces are to be commended, it’s also essential to promote not just the provision of these spaces but an understanding of why they are actually needed.
“The first barrier people face when they talk about autism is sometimes they don’t know what to say,” Ms Gilmore explained. “We want to meet people where they are at,” she said while highlighting their aim of bringing local communities, businesses, and organisations together.
Ms Gilmore said there has been plenty of misinformation around autism, such as the myth of overdiagnosis, which she stressed has been debunked by the National Disability Authority. “Ireland is probably behind when it comes to capturing data around autism,” she said.
While more people may be being diagnosed with autism than ever before, Ms Gilmore explained this is because there’s an increased awareness of it and people are finally gaining the support they need. The data shows that countless undiagnosed autistic people from previous generations likely went their entire lives without the language to describe their experiences.
Ms Gilmore pointed out that, historically in Ireland, teachers would force left-handed students to write with their right hand, insisting that their natural inclination was the wrong way of doing things. Now that there’s a better understanding that there’s no such thing as right or wrong when it comes to handwriting, it’s clear that this was the result of misinformation and the same can be said for autism.
The goal of turning Dublin into an autism-friendly capital extends to the infrastructure of the city itself and things like visual guides, sensory boxes and break out rooms in public buildings can make life easier for autistic people. Areas like Drumcondra have already made major strides toward this ambition and was officially recognised as an Autism Friendly Village at the AsIAm Autism Friendly Towns Awards 2025.
From linking with services like Dublin Bus to training accessibility officers, Ms Gilmore said they are taking on board the experiences of the autistic community and ensuring their needs are “interwoven into our community.” This will help eliminate the “invisible barriers” neurodivergent people face and ultimately will make Dublin more inclusive for everybody.
Last September, Dublin hosted the Autism Europe Congress, which welcomed 2,500 people to the city as academics, advocates, and the autistic community gathered to foster understanding and inclusivity. With AsIAm being founded by Adam Harris in 2014, Ms Gilmore said it’s been extraordinary to watch them gain an impressive international reach over the past 12 years.
One way to make Dublin more safe and inclusive is through the development of a sensory map of the city that can point out public break zones, sensory toolkits and sensory gardens. This is a simple way that autistic people can plan their days with an awareness that their specific needs will be met.
“Everyone loves to be prepared,” Ms Gilmore said, highlighting that these are offerings that not only make Dublin more inclusive, but tap into the requirements of everybody. The enhancement of sensory accommodations at train stations and transport networks will also make the city a lot easier to travel around.
This means that if someone has a question about getting the DART, Luas , or anything like that, they can have tools that make it really clear what’s required. “It’s addressing the invisible barriers for autistic people - so it’s safety in terms of your safety day to day, but it’s your sense of safety as well,” she said.
Inclusivity extends beyond everyday support as the contribution of Autistic people toward literature, art and music is vast. Ms Gilmore spoke about sitting in on an autism music residency in West Cork and how it really highlighted for her just how much can be done from a cultural perspective.
They aim to work with the Department of Arts to promote autism support and Ms Gilmore said there are plans for a mural in the city designed by an autistic artist to entrench their contribution into the fabric of the city itself.
“Whether it's through Dublin City Council, organisations like Failte Ireland, or Dublin Towns, it's about combining all that enthusiasm and support,” she said.
Many autistic people have cited difficulties when it comes to working in Dublin and supports will be put in place to address this. Ms Gilmore explained that although DCU became the world's first designated autism-friendly university, autistic graduates still face major challenges when those supports are no longer available in the workplace.
“From our own statistics we know that autistic people are underemployed and we use that choice of words because when they’re graduating out of third level, where they have a lot of support, we have a lot of catch-up to do when it comes to public inclusion in our workplaces.” With employment teams helping with CV building and interview prep, the goal is to strengthen pathways toward meaningful employment.
In a society where people are following a lot of unwritten rules or traversing complicated social expectations, this can be incredibly alienating for an autistic person who may not necessarily immediately pick up on them. “To quote a young autistic person I was working with, they were talking about unwritten rules and they asked why doesn’t somebody just write down this rule book,” Ms Gilmore said.
In a way, writing that rulebook is exactly what the Dublin City Autism Friendly Capital Project is endeavouring to do. Ms Gilmore said their ambition to turn Dublin into the world’s first autism friendly capital is to extend that “sense of belonging” that everybody longs to experience to everybody and create a city that understands how important it is for a person’s personal wellbeing to feel like they are not only seen, but genuinely understood.
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