Body Doubling group facilitator

Autism Valued is seeking volunteer facilitators to support our Body Doubling Group. The group is a chance for attendees to focus on their passion project, explore their special interest or even get some personal admin work done alongside others who are doing the same. This approach is sometimes also referred to as parallel play.

About the group

The group currently runs from 6 pm to 9 pm (including setup and pack up) on the first Wednesday of each month in person and on the fourth Wednesday of each month online. Sessions are unstructured so attendees can come and go as they like.

The group currently runs in-person in Box Hill; we are seeking volunteers to run the group in other locations closer to the city.

To help make sure attendees are participating in a way that suits them, we'll use a traffic light system (green sticker if you're happy to talk to anyone about anything, orange sticker if you only want to talk about what you're doing, red sticker if you would like to not talk to anyone about anything at all)

Facilitators help maintain a welcoming and respectful environment, ensure the space remains safe and inclusive for all, set up and pack up the group and work collaboratively with other facilitators.

Time commitment

• You will need to attend at least one session of the current group to make sure it's a good fit for you and to meet the facilitators. (at most 2 hours)
• We understand this isn't always possible, but we ask that as part of a team you facilitate one group per month (should take around 3 hours)
• Check the volunteer email inbox at least once per week for updates or communications related to the group. (should take around 10 minutes or less)
• We ask that at least one person out of the body doubling group facilitators attend our AV volunteer group meetings that happen on the first Monday of every second month (about one hour via Zoom)

Key responsibilities

• Co-facilitate the monthly group alongside other facilitators
• Help maintain a welcoming, respectful, and inclusive environment
• Encourage balanced discussion and ensure participants have an opportunity to contribute
• Support group guidelines and maintain appropriate boundaries
• Participate in brief planning and reflection discussions with the facilitation team
• Monitor and respond to relevant communications via the volunteer inbox

Skills and qualities

We are looking for facilitators who are:

• 18 years old or older
• Have a connection to the autism community. So you might be Autistic yourself or similarly neurodivergent. Be the parent, carer, sibling, or friend of an autistic person or have a professional connection to the community through work or study.
• Comfortable in a group setting
• Reliable and able to maintain regular communication
• Interested in contributing to a supportive peer community

Benefits of volunteering
Volunteering as a facilitator with Autism Valued provides opportunities to:

• Receive a membership with Autism Valued. This will give you discounted access to all of our peer support groups access to our D&D program, job coaching program, free access to our touchstone meetings and job seeker network.
• Develop skills in facilitation, community support, and group coordination
• Gain experience supporting neurodivergent community programs
• Build connections within the autistic and neurodivergent community
• Receive training opportunities relevant to the role

AV is committed to maintaining safe, respectful, and inclusive environments for all participants. Volunteers are expected to follow organisational policies and contribute to maintaining appropriate boundaries and respectful communication within the group.

If you are interested in supporting this community space, we would love to hear from you.