Teens Work Know-How Program
Our program runs on the financial year, in which case, we are now taking Expressions for round 1 (2026)
Timetables Below!

Register here: 

https://aspergersvic.org.au/event-6210684/Registration

Join Our Teens Work Know-How Program: Your Opportunity to Shine

Are you or someone you know a student, and ready to be supported in taking the next step towards transitioning from School into the Workforce? We’re thrilled to invite you to express your early interest in our Teens Work Know-How Program, running in 2026. This will allow us to showcase community need.

This early application will help us in proactively managing our program to ensure its the best it can be for all, and in our grant applications and advocacy work. Your early efforts are supporting us to keep this program funded, and our community supported. 

Please see below possible dates for the 2026 program!

Why This Program Matters

Our Teens Work Know-How Program is more than just a series of workshops—it’s a community-driven initiative designed to empower neurodiverse teens with the skills and confidence they need to thrive in the workplace. Here’s why this program is crucial:

• Empowering Futures: We provide the tools and support to help neurodiverse teens navigate the professional world with confidence. This program is tailored to highlight and harness their unique strengths. 
  
  
• Building Stronger Communities: By focusing on individual abilities and fostering an inclusive environment, we are building a community where everyone can contribute and succeed.  Jacob, our Program Manager, knows firsthand, "a lot of learning for our cohort is helping them cut through the jargon, explaining the first principles, the Why behind the actions taken, and being able to understand and mentor their curiosity".
  
  
• Advocating for Change: Your involvement helps us collect valuable data that showcases the impact and ROI of neurodiverse talent, how educators and employers can best support, harness and train your talents, and helping all parties understand how the spectrum may speak in a place of work. 
  
  This evidence is critical for securing future funding and expanding our reach and services to community, and more importantly, employers are businesses, this helps us showcase with tangible data, supported by our industry stakeholders, the long-term results of employing our community. The earlier our cohort understand themselves, their place on the spectrum, only then can they support, or be supported
  
  

Eligibility Criteria

To participate in the Teens Work Know-How Program, applicants must meet the following criteria:

• Age: Must be within the legal working age of 15- 18 by the time the program round starts.
• School Enrollment: Must be enrolled in secondary school or through the Home Schooling Network (HEN).
• Commitment: Must be able to meet the scheduled requirements of the program.
• School Support: Must have the school’s knowledge and signature for work experience placement to be included as part of the participant's school VET (Vocational Education and Training) learning.

How Your Participation Makes a Difference

1. Early Access: By expressing your interest now, you’ll be prioritized for onboarding in our final round of the current grant extension in 2025.
2. Future Notifications: You’ll be among the first to hear about additional funding and new programs from 2025-2026 if we receive further funding.
3. Program Development: Your early application helps us understand community needs and develop diverse program options, including school curriculum integration, holiday programs, and/ or online courses.

Real Stories, Real Impact

Our program isn’t just about skills; it’s about changing lives. Here is a story from our Team that highlight the social value of our work:

• Community Voices: One of our participants, "Emma", shared how the program helped her build confidence in a way that traditional approaches in school didn’t. She learned to speak to her unique strengths to feel more confident in job interviews and the transition process, understanding that what made her a leader in her basket ball team, and her love for sport, is why she is fit for the role; not because of her Resume. This participant then went off to work in a sports store at DFO.
  
  Another student, "Samantha" also suffered from stress related/undiagnosed tics, something that Jacob, due to his Tourette Syndrome understood the self consciousness of. Both of them, not being around many other "Tickers" connected, this report, this shared understanding, allowed for Sam to take of the mask, to transition from the timid shy girl who came in, feeling like her ticks would make her unable to achieve her goals, to one of the stand out students in our cohort. This preconceived mindset was brought to a halt; when she saw someone, doing exactly what she felted would never be possible. That reprograming of her believes, through seeing it with their own eyes, and being understood, was shared to be more impactful then any information, and a deeply impactful moment for both, and our program so far.  
  

Our ILC Commitment

Since 2019, supported by an ILC grant, we’ve faced challenges but remain dedicated to our mission; to deliver the Teens Work Know-How Program.

Despite the hurdles, including those from COVID-19, we’ve persevered, and pivoted through these challenges with the support of our community and stakeholders.
We continued to focus on leading by example, employing more lived experience team members, and exceeding past outcomes. 

Your participation is key to our success. It allows us to:

• Showcase Unique Talents: Highlight the skills and abilities of neurodiverse teens.
• Secure Essential Funding: Use collected data to advocate for extended or new grants.
• Expand Our Offerings: Create more programs tailored to various needs and preferences.

Register here: 

https://aspergersvic.org.au/event-6210684/Registration

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AV - Empowering and connecting Neurodiverse Individuals for 33 Year!

AV Privacy Policy

AV Event Terms & Conditions

Adults Group: January

- In-Person Meeting

About the Adults Group

Our Adults Group is for older members of the Aspergers autistic community and those with other similar neurodivergent profiles. It is more suitable for those who are aged 35 years and over, although younger adults are welcome to join in. (Young adults may prefer to attend our Young Adults group meetings as well as or instead of this group.)

The Adults Group is a parent/carer free zone - we ask that parents / carers of attendees join our separate Parents & Carers Group instead.

(Autistic adults who are also parents or carers are most welcome to attend independently of the person they care for.)

Volunteers needed

We’re looking for a volunteer Group Assistant to support our Group Leader and help to run the group. If you’re interested, please complete our online volunteer application or contact AV admin for more information.

About our Group Leaders

All AV volunteer group leaders share the lived experience of their group participants and welcome new attendees. All AV group leaders have a Working with Children Check.

Cost: $10 for AV members, $15 for non-members, FREE for holders of a +Groups Membership and for first-time attendees

Community Guide: About our free* first-time attendee ticket

Become an AV member to access discounted tickets for groups and events, members-only programs, and to support the work our volunteers and staff team do for our community.

If cost is a barrier, contact AV Admin or fill out our Hardship Fund application. 

Venue information

• Power Neighbourhood House - 54 Power Avenue, Ashwood, 3145
• Power Neighbourhood House website
• Power Neighbourhood House on Google Maps
• Public transport: Holmesglen Station (700m). 624 bus (stops outside). On-street parking.
• Accessibility: Ramp access at front and rear, accessible bathroom.

Anyone wanting to attend an AV activity must register before attending.

For in-person events, this allows us to ensure that we have enough volunteers attending on the night to support the group, and to ensure that the venue can safely accommodate all attendees.

In the event that the activity is cancelled or transferred to an online meeting, we will only be able to let you know if you have registered.

NB: Unregistered attendees may incur an admin fee of up to $10. Please note that first-time attendee tickets must be requested before the meeting and are not available at the door.

Community Guides (step by step information to support our community)

• Community Guide: How to register for an AV activity, view details of an existing registration, or cancel a registration
  

• Community Guide: How to pay for an AV activity registration (includes details for PayPal, credit card, and bank transfer options)

• Peer Support Groups - Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) (includes answers to the most common questions about AV peer support groups).

For assistance or more information

If you have further questions about the event, about AV, or need assistance with registering, please contact our AV admin team.

• Call 0480 385 710 or email us.

• Please note that our email inbox is not monitored outside business hours.

AV Privacy Policy

AV Event T&Cs

Adults Group: January

- Online Meeting

About the Adults Group

Our Adults Group is for older members of the Aspergers autistic community and those with other similar neurodivergent profiles. It is more suitable for those who are aged 35 years and over, although younger adults are welcome to join in. (Young adults may prefer to attend our Young Adults group meetings as well as or instead of this group.) 

The Adults Group is a parent/carer free zone - parents/carers of attendees are invited to join our separate Parents & Carers Group instead. (Autistic adults who are also parents or carers are most welcome.)

This meeting will be online via Zoom. We have included more information about Zoom and how to access the meeting below.

Volunteers needed

We’re looking for a volunteer Group Assistant to support our Group Leader and help to run the group. If you’re interested, please complete our online volunteer application or contact AV admin for more information.

About our Group Leaders

All AV volunteer group leaders are peers of their group participants and welcome new attendees. All AV group leaders have a Working with Children Check.

Cost: $5 for AV members, $10 for non-members. FREE for holders of a +Groups Membership and first-time attendees.

Community Guide: About our free* first-time attendee ticket

Become an AV member today to access discounted tickets for activities, members-only programs and interest groups, and to support the work our AV team does for our community.

If cost is a barrier, please contact our AV admin team.

Anyone wishing to attend an AV activity must register before attending.

For online events, you need to register to receive the Zoom meeting link.

Unregistered attendees may incur an admin fee of up to $10.

Community Guides (step by step information to support our community)

• How to register for an AV activity, view registration details, or cancel a registration

• How to pay for an AV activity registration (includes details for PayPal, credit card, and bank transfer options)

• How to access an AV Zoom Activity (includes tips on Zoom etiquette)

• AV Zoom Guide(includes details of in-Zoom features)

• Peer Support Groups - Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) (includes answers to the most common questions about AV peer support groups).

For assistance or more information

• Call 0480 385 710 or email our AV admin team.

• The AV phone is switched on from 9am to 5pm, Monday, Tuesday, Thursday.

• Please note that our email inbox is not monitored outside business hours.

AV Privacy Policy

AV Event T&Cs

Book Club: January

About the AV Book Club

If you enjoy reading fiction for adults and would like to have an incentive to read more, expand your reading list, and to meet with others to share your thoughts and insights and to hear others' perspectives, consider joining the AV Book Club for your next literary adventure. We read and discuss work by autistic authors as well as non-autistic authors.

This month, we will discuss Diary of a Young Naturalist by Dara McAnulty

Diary of a Young Naturalist chronicles the turning of 15-year-old Dara McAnulty's world. From spring and through a year in his home patch in Northern Ireland, Dara spent the seasons writing raw, vivid, evocative and moving diary entries about his connection to wildlife and the way he sees the world.

"I was diagnosed with Asperger's/autism aged five ... By age seven I knew I was very different, I had got used to the isolation, my inability to break through into the world of talking about football or Minecraft was not tolerated. Then came the bullying. Nature became so much more than an escape; it became a life-support system." Diary of a Young Naturalist portrays Dara's intense connection to the natural world, and his perspective as a teenager juggling exams and friendships alongside a life of campaigning. "In writing this book," Dara explains, "I have experienced challenges but also felt incredible joy, wonder, curiosity and excitement. In sharing this journey my hope is that people of all generations will not only understand autism a little more but also appreciate a child's eye view on our delicate and changing biosphere."

How to access this book

• Book Club book access and purchase guide for 2026 list.
  

Cost: $5 for AV members, $10 for non-members.

Become an AV member today to access discounted tickets for groups and events, members-only programs and interest groups, and to support all the wonderful work our volunteers and staff team do for our community.

If cost is a barrier, please contact AV admin.

All attendees must register before attending an AV activity.

For online activities, you will need to register to receive the Zoom meeting link.

Community Guides (step by step information to support our community)

• How to register for an AV activity

• How to view your registration details or cancel a registration
  

• How to access an AV Zoom Activity (includes tips on Zoom etiquette)

• AV Zoom Guide (includes details of in-Zoom features)

For more information

• Call 0480 385 710, or email our AV admin team.
  

• The AV phone is switched on from 9am to 5pm, Monday to Thursday.

• Tech and admin support for after-hours activities is available by phone call only an hour before the activity start time and for the first hour of the activity.

• Please note that our email inbox is not monitored outside business hours.

AV Groups Way

AV Privacy Policy

AV Event Terms & Conditions

Partners Group: February - Online Meeting

About our Partners Group

Join our Partners Peer Support Group to meet other adults who are in a relationship with someone who has Aspergers, is autistic, or has a similar neurodivergent profile. Sharing experiences within the safe environment of our peer support meetings can be a lifeline, and sharing with people who have similar lived experience is validating and often educational. Your partner may be self-diagnosed or have a formal diagnosis, and you may share a household or live separately. We are an inclusive group and welcome partners of all genders and relationship types.

This session is facilitated by our Partners Group Leaders. All AV volunteer group leaders share the lived experience of their group participants and welcome new attendees.

Cost: $5 for AV members, $10 for non-members.

Registration is FREE for holders of a +Groups Membership and for first-time attendees. How to access a free first-time attendee ticket for regular peer support groups.

Become an AV member today to access discounted tickets for groups and events, members-only programs and interest groups, and to support the wonderful work our volunteers and staff team do for our community.

If cost is a barrier, please contact our AV admin team or fill out our Hardship Fund application form. 

Anyone wishing to attend an AV activity must register before attending.

For online events, you will need to register to receive the Zoom meeting link.

Unregistered attendees may incur an admin fee of up to $10.

Community Guides (step by step information to support our community)

• How to register for, cancel or view registration details of an AV activity
• How to make a payment for an AV activity registration (includes details for PayPal, credit card, and bank transfer options)
• How to access an AV Zoom Activity(includes tips on Zoom etiquette)
• AV Zoom Guide(includes details of in-Zoom features)
• Peer Support Groups - Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) (includes answers to the most common questions about AV peer support groups).

For assistance or more information

• Call 0480 385 710 or email our AV admin team.
• The AV phone is switched on from 9am to 5pm, Monday, Tuesday, Thursday.
• Please note that our email inbox is not monitored outside business hours.

AV Privacy Policy

AV Event Terms & Conditions

Book Club: March

About the AV Book Club

If you enjoy reading fiction for adults and would like to have an incentive to read more, expand your reading list, and to meet with others to share your thoughts and insights and to hear others' perspectives, consider joining the AV Book Club for your next literary adventure. We read and discuss work by autistic authors as well as non-autistic authors.

This month, we will discuss: Love & Autism by Kay Kerr

Michael made a name for himself on the hit show Love on the Spectrum. After his televised first dating experiences, will he complete his quest to find his queen?

Chloe was always good at maths, with feelings 'too big' to be contained. When she reconnects with her childhood boyfriend, it must be fate.

Noor has had a lot on her plate from a young age, especially at home. People-pleasing becomes her survival mode, but Noor can't keep her struggles inside forever.

Jess has spent a lifetime being put into different boxes. Through her strong will and creativity, can she break out and build a life that is truly her own?

Tim is a non-speaking autistic man who has been underestimated all his life. But through willpower, technology and a mother's love, he has a chance of finding a different kind of voice.

Through the intimate writing of critically acclaimed autistic author Kay Kerr, Love & Autism presents an uplifting celebration of neurodivergent love, the search for it and a deeper look into the lives of autistic Australians.

How to access this book

• Book Club book access and purchase guide for 2026 list.
  

Cost: $5 for AV members, $10 for non-members.

Become an AV member today to access discounted tickets for groups and events, members-only programs and interest groups, and to support all the wonderful work our volunteers and staff team do for our community.

If cost is a barrier, please contact AV admin.

All attendees must register before attending an AV activity.

For online activities, you will need to register to receive the Zoom meeting link.

Community Guides (step by step information to support our community)

• How to register for an AV activity

• How to view your registration details or cancel a registration
  

• How to access an AV Zoom Activity (includes tips on Zoom etiquette)

• AV Zoom Guide (includes details of in-Zoom features)

For more information

• Call 0480 385 710, or email our AV admin team.
  

• The AV phone is switched on from 9am to 5pm, Monday to Thursday.

• Tech and admin support for after-hours activities is available by phone call only an hour before the activity start time and for the first hour of the activity.

• Please note that our email inbox is not monitored outside business hours.

AV Groups Way

AV Privacy Policy

AV Event Terms & Conditions

Book Club: May

About the AV Book Club

If you enjoy reading fiction for adults and would like to have an incentive to read more, expand your reading list, and to meet with others to share your thoughts and insights and to hear others' perspectives, consider joining the AV Book Club for your next literary adventure. We read and discuss work by autistic authors as well as non-autistic authors.

This month, we will discuss:  All the Little Bird-Hearts by Viktoria Lloyd-Barlow

Sunday lives with her sixteen-year-old daughter Dolly in the same house she has lived in all her life. She does things differently from other people, but mostly it works. On her "quiet days" she must eat only white foods. For social situations, she has her etiquette handbook, and for solace her beloved treasury of Sicilian folklore. But the one thing very much out of her control is Dolly – beautiful, headstrong Dolly who is on the cusp of leaving home.

Into this carefully ordered life step Vita and Rollo, a glamorous London couple who move in next door, disarm Sunday with their wit and charm, and proceed to deliciously break just about every rule in her etiquette manual. Soon the two families are in and out of each other’s houses, and Sunday feels loved and accepted like never before. But beneath Vita and Rollo's charm and wealth there is something else, something darker. And Sunday has something that Vita has always wanted for herself, a beautiful, clever daughter of her own.

How to access this book

• Book Club book access and purchase guide for 2026 list.
  

Cost: $5 for AV members, $10 for non-members.

Become an AV member today to access discounted tickets for groups and events, members-only programs and interest groups, and to support all the wonderful work our volunteers and staff team do for our community.

If cost is a barrier, please contact AV admin.

All attendees must register before attending an AV activity.

For online activities, you will need to register to receive the Zoom meeting link.

Community Guides (step by step information to support our community)

• How to register for an AV activity

• How to view your registration details or cancel a registration
  

• How to access an AV Zoom Activity (includes tips on Zoom etiquette)

• AV Zoom Guide (includes details of in-Zoom features)

For more information

• Call 0480 385 710, or email our AV admin team.
  

• The AV phone is switched on from 9am to 5pm, Monday to Thursday.

• Tech and admin support for after-hours activities is available by phone call only an hour before the activity start time and for the first hour of the activity.

• Please note that our email inbox is not monitored outside business hours.

AV Groups Way

AV Privacy Policy

AV Event Terms & Conditions

Book Club: July

About the AV Book Club

If you enjoy reading fiction for adults and would like to have an incentive to read more, expand your reading list, and to meet with others to share your thoughts and insights and to hear others' perspectives, consider joining the AV Book Club for your next literary adventure. We read and discuss work by autistic authors as well as non-autistic authors.

This month, we will discuss:   The Outside by Ada Hoffmann

Autistic scientist Yasira Shien has developed a radical new energy drive that could change the future of humanity. But when she activates it, reality warps, destroying the space station and everyone aboard. The AI Gods who rule the galaxy declare her work heretical, and Yasira is abducted by their agents. Instead of simply executing her, they offer mercy – if she’ll help them hunt down a bigger target: her own mysterious, vanished mentor. With her homeworld’s fate in the balance, Yasira must choose who to trust: the gods and their ruthless post-human angels, or the rebel scientist whose unorthodox mathematics could turn her world inside out.

How to access this book

• Book Club book access and purchase guide for 2026 list.
  

Cost: $5 for AV members, $10 for non-members.

Become an AV member today to access discounted tickets for groups and events, members-only programs and interest groups, and to support all the wonderful work our volunteers and staff team do for our community.

If cost is a barrier, please contact AV admin.

All attendees must register before attending an AV activity.

For online activities, you will need to register to receive the Zoom meeting link.

Community Guides (step by step information to support our community)

• How to register for an AV activity

• How to view your registration details or cancel a registration
  

• How to access an AV Zoom Activity (includes tips on Zoom etiquette)

• AV Zoom Guide (includes details of in-Zoom features)

For more information

• Call 0480 385 710, or email our AV admin team.
  

• The AV phone is switched on from 9am to 5pm, Monday to Thursday.

• Tech and admin support for after-hours activities is available by phone call only an hour before the activity start time and for the first hour of the activity.

• Please note that our email inbox is not monitored outside business hours.

AV Groups Way

AV Privacy Policy

AV Event Terms & Conditions

Book Club: September

About the AV Book Club

If you enjoy reading fiction for adults and would like to have an incentive to read more, expand your reading list, and to meet with others to share your thoughts and insights and to hear others' perspectives, consider joining the AV Book Club for your next literary adventure. We read and discuss work by autistic authors as well as non-autistic authors.

This month, we will discuss:  Foundation: 1 by Isaac Asimov

In September we’ll discuss the first novel in Isaac Asimov's classic science-fiction masterpiece, the Foundation series. For twelve thousand years the Galactic Empire has ruled supreme. Now it is dying. Only Hari Seldon, creator of the revolutionary science of psychohistory, can see into the future – to a dark age of ignorance, barbarism, and warfare that will last thirty thousand years. To preserve knowledge and save humankind, Seldon gathers the best minds in the Empire and brings them to a bleak planet at the edge of the galaxy to serve as a beacon of hope for future generations. He calls his sanctuary the Foundation.

How to access this book

• Book Club book access and purchase guide for 2026 list.
  

Cost: $5 for AV members, $10 for non-members.

Become an AV member today to access discounted tickets for groups and events, members-only programs and interest groups, and to support all the wonderful work our volunteers and staff team do for our community.

If cost is a barrier, please contact AV admin.

All attendees must register before attending an AV activity.

For online activities, you will need to register to receive the Zoom meeting link.

Community Guides (step by step information to support our community)

• How to register for an AV activity

• How to view your registration details or cancel a registration
  

• How to access an AV Zoom Activity (includes tips on Zoom etiquette)

• AV Zoom Guide (includes details of in-Zoom features)

For more information

• Call 0480 385 710, or email our AV admin team.
  

• The AV phone is switched on from 9am to 5pm, Monday to Thursday.

• Tech and admin support for after-hours activities is available by phone call only an hour before the activity start time and for the first hour of the activity.

• Please note that our email inbox is not monitored outside business hours.

AV Groups Way

AV Privacy Policy

AV Event Terms & Conditions