Have you recently found out that you’re Autistic?
The Discovery Programme is an award-winning 6-week online group for adults who have recently identified as Autistic. Each week, you’ll meet with a small group of other Autistic adults who are also new to understanding themselves this way. Together, you’ll learn about your neurotype and talk about what being Autistic means for you.
You are welcome whether you have a formal diagnosis or are self-identifying. We know that assessments can be expensive, have long waiting lists, or be hard to access for other reasons. You don’t need a diagnosis to join, and we won’t ask you for one.
The programme is designed and delivered by neurodivergent practitioners.
There are just 20 places on this programme, and we expect them to fill quickly.
What happens in the programme
We meet online once a week for 6 weeks. The sessions draw on our six Discovery modules:
- Masking and burnout
- Impostor phenomenon and intersectionality
- Sensory systems
- Communication and relationships
- Monotropism and Autistic attention
- Internalised ableism and self-advocacy
In the first session, you’ll hear from each other about how you came to identify as Autistic. The group will then help decide which topics to focus on in the weeks that follow.
Before each session, we’ll email you a short video of up to 15 minutes. You can watch it whenever suits you, so you have time to think about the topic before we meet.
All six modules are also available on our website as free videos, guides and tools. You can explore any of them at your own pace, alongside the live sessions.
How the sessions work
- Captions are on in every session.
- Sessions are not recorded, to respect everyone’s privacy.
- Cameras are optional. You’re fully welcome to join with your camera off.
- Speaking and typing are equally valued. You can contribute out loud or in the chat.
- There’s no pressure to take part. You’re welcome to just listen.
Dates and times
- Starts: Wednesday 4 November 2026
- Ends: Wednesday 9 December 2026
- Time: every Wednesday, 7pm to 8:30pm Irish/UK time (GMT)
- Where: online, on Zoom
Cost – €250 (75% discount)
For the last few years, we were grateful to receive funding that let us offer this programme free of charge. We don’t currently have that funding. We are covering part of the cost ourselves, and we need to charge a fee for the rest.
For this last round of the year, we are running a group version of the programme, so we can keep the price accessible for everyone. You get six live group sessions, a short video before each one, and free access to our monthly meetups until the end of December.
Our full Discovery Programme costs €985. That price covers developing the programme, a one-to-one session with a practitioner for each person, advocacy support and all the background work that goes into running a programme of this scale.
This group version uses the programme we have already developed, so we can offer it for €250, about a quarter of the full price.
How to book
Paid places are first come, first served.
Booking has two steps:
- Fill in our short booking form. It takes about 2 minutes.
- Choose how to pay: €250 in full, or 5 weekly payments of €50,
Your place is confirmed once your first payment goes through.
Please read our booking and refund information before you book.
Free places
If cost would stop you from joining, you can apply for one of 5 free places.
You don’t need to explain your circumstances or tell us why you need a free place. If more than 5 people apply, the 5 places will be allocated at random.
Everyone who applies has an equal chance.
- Friday 23 October: applications close.
- Monday 26 October: If more than 5 people have applied, we randomly select 5 names
- Tuesday 27 October: we email everyone who applied with the outcome.
Free places: applications are now closed
Thank you to everyone who applied for a free place. We had more applications than places, so we chose the 5 places at random.
Everyone who applied will hear from us by email today, Tuesday 27 October.
If you were not chosen, you can still book a paid place above. Booking closes on Wednesday 28 October.
Watch the draw
If you don’t get a place
You’ll stay on our waiting list, and we’ll email you when the next programme opens. In the meantime, the free Discovery modules on our website are open to everyone.
Questions? Email us at hello@thrivingautistic.org.
We’d love to spend these six weeks with you: learning together, sharing experiences, and making space for the questions that matter to you.