Autism Awareness Month Story | Sophie Scott

14/04/2026

Written by Harry Welburn

April is Autism Awareness Month, and across the next three weeks, we are sharing stories from players and staff across our teams who live with autism, highlighting their experiences and how Sheffield Eagles support them.

Today, we hear from Sophie Scott, who plays for our Women’s Team.

Sophie joined our Women’s Gold team in 2024, and was later diagnosed with Autism in 2025.

“I struggled to make friends at Sheffield Hallam University. I had a couple of close friends, but I never really put myself out there. At school I was labelled as quiet. I would get anxious, fixated. I was sporty, but individual sports, swimming, running - not team games.”

“My Grandad was a season ticket holder at Hull KR. I’ve supported them since before I went to school, I’ve just been to watch them in Las Vegas, but I didn’t play Rugby League until I left University.

“The autism diagnosis, and being in a team situation, have both helped me. I’m comfortable training and playing with my gold teammates, but I’m aware of my autism when we do joint training with the Reds team. I get confused, go mute, put myself to hide out on the wing.”