{"id":1043,"date":"2023-01-26T11:38:51","date_gmt":"2023-01-26T11:38:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/queenscommonwealthtrust.org\/?post_type=project&#038;p=1043"},"modified":"2025-06-27T05:39:36","modified_gmt":"2025-06-27T05:39:36","slug":"siblings-friends-network-creating-inclusion-and-equal-access-to-opportunities-for-autistic-persons-in-trinidad-tobago","status":"publish","type":"project","link":"https:\/\/queenscommonwealthtrust.org\/projects\/siblings-friends-network-creating-inclusion-and-equal-access-to-opportunities-for-autistic-persons-in-trinidad-tobago\/","title":{"rendered":"Siblings &#038; Friends Network &#8211; creating inclusive opportunities for young people with autism"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Young people with autism in Trinidad &amp; Tobago face challenges including limited access to specialised services, including diagnosis, therapy, and education. Many families also face financial difficulties in accessing support for their autistic children.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Growing up, Maya&nbsp;Nanan&nbsp;did not understand why her autistic&nbsp;younger brother,&nbsp;Rahul,&nbsp;could not go to school. She&nbsp;later realised that there&nbsp;weren\u2019t many opportunities available for him and others with special educational needs. Maya founded Siblings and Friends Network to create opportunities for Rahul and others with special educational needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p><em>\u201cAt 6 years, Rahul was turned away from 6 schools. There is a social stigma regarding&nbsp;special&nbsp;needs and disabilities and I want to change that.\u2019\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n<cite>Maya Nanan<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"533\" src=\"https:\/\/queenscommonwealthtrust.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/slide2-1024x533.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-44\" srcset=\"https:\/\/queenscommonwealthtrust.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/slide2-1024x533.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/queenscommonwealthtrust.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/slide2-300x156.jpg 300w, https:\/\/queenscommonwealthtrust.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/slide2-768x400.jpg 768w, https:\/\/queenscommonwealthtrust.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/slide2-1536x800.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/queenscommonwealthtrust.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/12\/slide2.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Siblings &amp; Friends Network founder &#8211; Maya and her autistic brother Rahul in a creative learning session at Rahul&#8217;s clubhouse set up with QECT&#8217;s support.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Siblings and Friends Network advocates for Trinidad &amp; Tobago to become a place that is inclusive of those with autism and other special educational needs.&nbsp;Through Siblings and Friends Network, those with autism&nbsp;have access to opportunities for intellectual, social, and mental development.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Siblings and Friends Network works in the&nbsp;central and deep south regions of Trinidad &amp; Tobago, which are the areas most lacking in the provision of educational and therapeutic services.&nbsp;It is&nbsp;the only organisation advocating for autistic young people in the central and southern regions of the Trinidadian island.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" src=\"https:\/\/queenscommonwealthtrust.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Sibs-Friends-1024x768.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1092\" srcset=\"https:\/\/queenscommonwealthtrust.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Sibs-Friends-1024x768.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/queenscommonwealthtrust.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Sibs-Friends-300x225.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/queenscommonwealthtrust.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Sibs-Friends-768x576.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/queenscommonwealthtrust.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Sibs-Friends-1536x1152.jpeg 1536w, https:\/\/queenscommonwealthtrust.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/Sibs-Friends.jpeg 1600w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Siblings &amp; Friends volunteer Rianne facilitating visual and creative learning.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Siblings and Friends Network is among nineteen other organisations that are currently enrolled on the Youth Ventures Programme (YVP). Through the YVP, QECT provides youth-led organisations with flexible funding, practical tools and technical support, and access to a global network of young leaders for 2+ years.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>With QECT\u2019s support since March 2022 Siblings and Friends Network has been able to:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Set up and run Rahul\u2019s Clubhouse, serving 65+ registered autistic persons who access&nbsp;intellectual, social, and mental development programmes at the clubhouse<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Train 10 special needs teachers who are now working as tutors at Rahul\u2019s Clubhouse&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Provide an online network for peer support and counselling for over 200 autism parents<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p><em>\u201cWithout<\/em><strong><em>\u00a0QECT\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><em>funding I would not have been able to open Rahul&#8217;s\u00a0Clubhouse. The Youth Ventures Funding gave me the opportunity to\u00a0make my dream a reality, and today, my autistic brother and many\u00a0others have access\u00a0to opportunities for\u00a0development.\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n<cite>Maya Nanan<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Future work supported by QECT in 2023:\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>SFN\u2019s goal is to support more autistic persons with added developmental programmes at Rahul\u2019s clubhouse.&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Young people with autism in Trinidad &amp; Tobago face challenges including limited access to specialised services, including diagnosis, therapy, and education. Many families also face financial difficulties in accessing support for their autistic children. Growing up, Maya&nbsp;Nanan&nbsp;did not understand why her autistic&nbsp;younger brother,&nbsp;Rahul,&nbsp;could not go to school. She&nbsp;later realised that there&nbsp;weren\u2019t many opportunities available for [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":1092,"template":"","project-categories":[13],"class_list":["post-1043","project","type-project","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","project-categories-education-and-employability"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Siblings &amp; Friends Network - creating inclusive opportunities for young people with autism | Queens Commonwealth Trust<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/queenscommonwealthtrust.org\/projects\/siblings-friends-network-creating-inclusion-and-equal-access-to-opportunities-for-autistic-persons-in-trinidad-tobago\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Siblings &amp; Friends Network - creating inclusive opportunities for young people with autism | Queens Commonwealth Trust\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Young people with autism in Trinidad &amp; Tobago face challenges including limited access to specialised services, including diagnosis, therapy, and education. 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