Annual professionals' conference 2025: Session summaries
Below are summaries of all sessions taking place throughout the Annual Professionals' Conference 2025. If you're ready to book your place, you can do so on our conference booking page.
Education and young people |
| Stream A |
| Chairs: Dr Carly Danesh-Jones & Tim Nicholls |
Mental health and clinical services |
| Stream B |
| Chair: Peter Watt |
Supportive approaches |
| Stream C |
| Chair: Fenella Cannings-Jurd |
9.20 - 10.10am
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Neuroaffirmative practice is increasingly being recognised and embraced by many practitioners and clinicians. However, we know this is still a new idea to many people, and there can be uncertainty about what it actually means. Our panel speakers all work in different disciplines or research, so we have invited each person to talk about what neuroaffirmative practice means to them. The speakers will then join together for a Q&A session.
10.20 - 11.10am
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This talk explores the unique challenges faced by Black autistic individuals, focusing on how the intersection of race and disability impacts their lives and experiences. It highlights both socio-cultural (community) and systemic barriers that hinder access to diagnosis and support services for Black families. It also delves into the potential benefits of culturally tailoring support/interventions to address the specific needs of the Black community, within the broader context of autism care and advocacy.
11.30 - 12.15pm
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Description coming soon.
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Description coming soon.
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This talk will explore the transformative impact of autistic-led support aimed at autistic young people. It will share insight and feedback from Spectrum Gaming’s work, such as our ‘Autism Understood Live’ sessions which provide autistic young people with a safe, peer-led space to deepen their understanding of autism and themselves, based around information from the Autism Understood website. This talk will also highlight how the power of authentic representation and community-driven learning fosters understanding, acceptance and connection in autistic youth.
The session will include:
- information and ideas about how professionals and parents can support young people to understand their neurotype
- insight into the impact of autistic-led support, including improved mental health, wellbeing and community belonging
- key strategies for creating inclusive, peer-driven support environments that empower young people to explore their identities.
1.15 - 2pm
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This session will focus on understanding monotropism, an autistic-created, neuro-affirming theory that offers a holistic and, to many people, a new understanding of both autistic (and ADHD) experiences. Drawing from autistic culture, we'll explore how this theory provides insights into many autistic experiences, examine practical strategies that align with a monotropic perspective, and develop additional support strategies through this lens. The session will be relevant to children with profound and multiple learning disabilities and those without.
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Description coming soon.
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Description coming soon.
2.10 - 2.55pm
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The NEurodivergent peer Support Toolkit (NEST) is a suite of materials to facilitate peer support for neurodivergent young people in mainstream secondary schools. The toolkit has been co-created by researchers at the University of Edinburgh, neurodivergent young people and a neurodiverse group of adults who work with neurodivergent young people. NEST groups aim to provide a safe space for neurodivergent students to have fun with their peers, engage in their choice of activities, learn about neurodiversity and explore feelings related to their own neurodivergence. This talk will describe the development and subsequent trial of the NEST materials, and how they may improve neurodivergent young people’s school experiences.
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The field of trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in autistic individuals has been gaining increasing interest in recent years. While there are more publications in this area, the lack of large-scale international trials on assessment measures and randomised controlled trials on psychological treatment models, means that evidence-based practice guidelines for autistic individuals with trauma and PTSD are lacking. This talk will provide an overview of what is currently known about identifying, treating and supporting autistic individuals who have experienced trauma and PTSD, while also highlighting the gaps in current knowledge.
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This session will explore practical ways non-autistic individuals can become effective allies for the autistic community. We'll discuss the importance of understanding and respecting autistic communication styles, sensory needs and diverse perspectives. Participants will learn how to create inclusive environments, challenge stereotypes and amplify autistic voices. We'll cover strategies for adapting social interactions, supporting autistic colleagues in the workplace and advocating for systemic changes. The session will emphasise the value of neurodiversity and the need to move beyond mere awareness to active allyship. By the end, attendees will have practical actions they can take to become an effective ally and know how they can partner with autistic people in a meaningful way.
3.10 - 3.55pm
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This session will explore how technology can be harnessed to create inclusive learning environments that support neurodivergent learners. Dr Broadhurst will discuss key benefits and share practical examples of personalised learning experiences, improved engagement and accessible content tailored to various learning needs. She will address potential risks, including the inherent bias in generative AI that can exacerbate inequality. Finally, Dr Broadhurst will emphasise the importance of thoughtful design and collaboration with neurodivergent communities to ensure technology enhances education in an equitable and sustainable way.
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Our autistic sensory experiences can be intensely joyful, deeply distressing and everything in between. They provide colour and spice to every encounter with the world outside and inside of our bodies in a way that can be difficult for non-autistic people to understand. Led by an autistic occupational therapist, this session will be a refreshing exploration of how autistic sensory preferences and sensitivities influence the way we interact and live our daily lives and impact our mental health and wellbeing.
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There are many autistic students thriving at our universities. Not only is Brian Irvine hopefully optimistic about the neurodiverse communities that are our universities, he is also fairly sure that hopeful optimism is actually how they work well.
Hopefully, by the end of the session, you will:
- know a little about the tapestry of accommodations and supports in higher education
- have had time to think about the role of specialist mentoring (autism) in particular, especially:
- What is mentoring? And what is it not?
- What are the big domains of what mentors do?
- And why does a little bit of reframing not go amiss?
- have a model of mentoring you can use elsewhere.
4.05 - 4.50pm
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This talk is on reducing restrictive practices by adopting non-confrontational low arousal approaches. It will explore a practitioner’s perspective on the low arousal approach, including reflective practice and its implications for changing day-to-day practice; developing arousal regulation and co-regulation; and removing the ‘battle for control’ (McDonnell, 2019). The perspective of people with lived experiences and their application of low arousal approaches will also be explored. The talk will focus on eradication rather than reduction of restrictive practices, predominantly from a human rights-based perspective.
Learning outcomes: Practitioners should be able to understand the basic principles of the low arousal approach; develop ideas for the reduction and elimination of restraint and seclusion; and move away from punitive methods of behaviour control.
On-demand sessions
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The session will cover how transdisciplinary approaches and methodologies can support transitions for autistic young people both in and out of schools, at the beginning of their educational journeys and beyond.
Transdisciplinary teams do this by working together to better understand autistic young people and working collaboratively with them. Jointly identifying environmental barriers and differences and remaining solution- focused has a positive impact on transitions, education practice and wellbeing.
The session will include an explanation of this approach in National Autistic Society schools and describe strategies and toolkits used to support pupils and their families with transitions within schools and local communities.
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Autistic minimally/non-speaking individuals are increasingly able to self-advocate for equitable access and participation in the major life domains, with assistive technology and Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC). Due to their neurodivergent differences, people with complex communication needs (CCN) often fail to meet prevalent non-autistic or neurotypical standards and routinely face exclusionary barriers. Full inclusion in mainstream domains for the CCN community is underscored by understanding and accepting their sensory, processing and movement differences and making necessary adjustments for inclusivity. This presentation will explore self-advocacy for autonomy and self-determination of the CCN community, in validation of their neurodivergent functioning, and offer neuro-affirming strategies to meet prerequisite needs for inclusion.
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Description coming soon.
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This session is an introduction to trauma therapy, particularly Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy.
We’ll consider the types of trauma aided by EMDR. Autistic individuals will receive information about the benefits of EMDR. Therapists will be encouraged to reflect upon their practice and consider possible adaptations (if necessary) to support access, engagement and outcomes of EMDR therapy for their clients.
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Interoception is one of the hottest topics in neuroscience and has shed light on the value of listening to and understanding our internal body signals. How connected are you to your inner self? How connected are your clients? Research shows that interoceptive awareness is foundational to self-regulation and positive mental health, and this interoception science has encouraged a shift towards more affirming supports. This session will discuss common autistic lived experiences that can derail interoceptive awareness, as well as protective or restorative strategies that can nurture (re)connection to the body. Come take an inner selfie as we explore the lived experience and science of this important topic.
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Liz and Josh will present the results from the AUDIT-50 study funded by the Dunhill Medical Trust, which looked at health and healthcare experiences of older autistic people using routinely collected data from UK primary care. We found evidence that more than nine out of ten autistic people aged 50+ are undiagnosed; that those who are diagnosed experience a shorter life expectancy than average; and that common health conditions may be under-identified in autistic people, leading to health inequalities that would be expected to grow as people age. We will also discuss evidence from an interview study highlighting specific barriers to care and areas of unmet need.