A network of technology clubs for autistic children and young people who who enjoy working with computers

FIND A LAB

Mentoring by technical professionals in
programming, 3D, Digital Design, and Gaming.

What is The Lab?

The Lab is a growing network of not for profit technology clubs for autistic children and young people who enjoy working and playing with computers. The experience for participants at The Lab is designed to be engaging, educational, and supportive. By providing a safe and welcoming space and technology-based activities, The Lab can help young people on the autism spectrum develop important skills, gain confidence, and pursue their passions. While The Lab is not NDIS registered, many Lab participants use their NDIS plans to pay for Lab sessions.

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About Lab sessions

The Lab’s approach is unstructured and does not have expectations of specific education or technology outcomes. The Lab is a tech and games based social experience for young people aged 8-18 + where the goal is to have fun and make friends.
Register to try a session. Many venues offer a trial period where participants can attend sessions and pay if they decide to continue. If it’s not what you are looking for, there’s no charge. Session fees are kept as low as possible in line with our not for profit status.

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The Lab News

  • The Lab is excited to have several new venues commencing sessions soon.
    – Carnegie, Richmond and St Kilda in Melbourne
    – Mascot in Sydney
    – Sumner & Redlands in Brisbane
    The Lab is a not for profit activity and it’s important to have sufficient numbers to run sustainable sessions. If you are interested in joining sessions at these venues, please register your expression of interest so that we can build sufficient numbers to run sessions. Click on the Register button on the top right of this page, complete the registration screens and we’ll be in touch with more detail about sessions.

  • The Lab Hobart has commenced sessions at the Glenorchy Library on Saturday mornings. Bookings are essential. Please visit the Join a Lab page for more information.
  • Here’s an interesting ABC News item from Brisbane about the positive support provided to young people with autism through tabletop games.
  • The Lab at Bargoonga Nganjin Nth Fitzroy Library has commenced sessions! Visit the Join a Lab page to register.
  • The Lab at Castle Hill in Sydney have commenced sessions at the Museums Discovery Centre on Sunday mornings from 10.30am – 12.30pm during school terms. See the Join a Lab page for more details.
  • This article from ABC News gives a great overview of The Lab on the Gold Coast, their fantastic work and their commitment to opening the door to new skills, friendships and fun.
    https://www.abc.net.au

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The Lab Turns 10 Years Old!

We started to celebrate our 10th birthday with a national Tech Challenge and massive online games event in November.
The Tech Challenge was generously supported by IBM and saw fantastic work created in areas of Game Development, 3D Animation, 2D Artwork, Minecraft Builds and Video production. Lab participants created some great work and you can see the project gallery linked here.
https://thelab.org.au/tech-challenge-projects/
On Saturday November 13, 60 Lab participants from across the country came together online for our first Online SuperLab. Participants played tournament style games in Minecraft, Super Smash Bros and super social rounds of Gartic Phone.

The Lab Online

The Lab Online sessions are available Monday to Friday from 4.30pm – 6.30pm. These sessions cover a wide range of game play and tech activities using the Zoom platform.

To register for online sessions please complete the registration form linked from the Join a Lab page and register for The Lab Online. We will contact you to discuss the session day and time that best suits you.

Click this link to read full details of Lab Online sessions:
The Lab Online FAQ 2023
See the video of participants PAX 2020 game projects here.

Mentors with technical expertise

By pairing autistic young people with tutors who have technical expertise in areas of mutual interest, The Lab seeks to improve the well-being and life prospects of young people who are often highly skilled but whose condition can lead them to fall through gaps in the mainstream education system. The Lab is always on the lookout for enthusiastic and skilled tech mentors.

Join the mentor team at The Lab

The Lab resources

Join The Lab to access a great variety of helpful videos and powerpoints for participants, mentors and parents.

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Introduction to The Lab