
The Discovery Council
The Discovery council is a group of autistic adults or people with learning disabilities supported by Discovery in Somerset.
The council was established in February 2020 and since the start of the first national lockdown it has been meeting online every two weeks.
Council members, with some great support, learned the skills to connect and interact in Zoom meetings online. They spent time getting to know each other and how to work together as a group.

The Council’s first job was to agree the terms of how the group would work, how often they would meet, the number of people who should attend and how members of other groups should be invited to attend.
In early 2021 elections took place when members chose Jamie as chairperson and Alice as deputy.
Jamie and Alice work as a team supporting each other in their roles and between them represent the council at board meetings, Dimensions council, the family working group, campaign events, and other key meetings.
The council choose the topics they would like to talk about and they are issues that are important to them and everyone with learning disabilities and/or autism.
People supported by Discovery can join a meeting to see what they are all about. The council always welcome people to get more involved and hear about local issues.
The council invite guests to each meeting and work with Discovery’s executive team and the board to have a louder voice within the organisation, the Dimensions group and on wider ranging decision making.
During 2021 the Discovery council is focusing on health, IT support, Coronavirus, keeping people safe, hate crime and daytime or outreach support.
If you are supported by Discovery and would like to join the council please send an email to discoverycouncil@discovery.org-uk