A society with 40 years of outstanding care - and now it is backing the Portfolio Awards

The North East Autism Society (NEAS) is the leading voice and largest provider of services for those with autism and neurological differences (ND) in Northern England.

It has created a diverse range of services and now it is backing our search for the cream of Sunderland and County Durham industry.

The Society was founded in 1980 by parents whose autistic children couldn’t access the support they needed to thrive and develop. The parents re-mortgaged their homes to acquire their first school in Sunderland to provide better educational opportunities for children.

It was somewhere where their needs were understood and they would be helped to achieve their full potential.

NEAS founding parent Paul Shattock said: “I’m just so proud of what Sunderland did…because everything we needed was here…and above all, a sense of community that I hadn’t seen anywhere else”

For more than 40 years, NEAS has led the way in providing autism-specific care and education for children, young people, and adults across the region.

A spokesman said: “Recognised for our innovation and excellence, everything we do stems from an unswerving belief in providing bespoke, person-centred support.

“It’s at the heart of who we are to recognise and celebrate the uniqueness of every human being, and to understand that no two people, within an understanding of neurodiversity, will have the same needs or wants."

John Phillipson, Society Chief Executive, said NEAS was ‘fiercely proud of our Wearside roots and to be a category sponsor of these celebrated awards, recognising the businesses that make us proud of the region’.

This year's competition is the first to be held since the pandemic struck.

Now in their 15th year, the Sunderland Echo is proud to present the Portfolio Business 2021 Awards which are a celebration of excellence within the business sector.

Sunderland City Council is once again the headline sponsor and we are also delighted to welcome on board Artventurers, Gentoo, the North East Autism Society, Station Taxis, Bradley Hall, South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust, Thompson Waste Management, Sunderland College, University of Sunderland, NHS Sunderland Clinical Commissioning Group, and the North East Business and Innovation Centre in Sunderland.

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