The inspiration for the charity came from Professor Sir Simon Baron-Cohen’s 2017 speech at the United Nations. In his speech, he explained that many autistic people are still denied basic human rights – such as the right to health, education, employment, equal access to public services, dignity, leisure, and the protection of the law.  

Professor Baron-Cohen wanted to address this inequity. He brought together a team committed to changing the unacceptable status quo and created the Autism Centre of Excellence at Cambridge (ACE) from the Autism Research Trust, a charity that existed at that time to fund world-class autism research. 

In 2025, the Autism Centre of Excellence rebranded to become Autism Action.