Neurodiversity Celebration Week

Empowering autistic adults & young people with additional learning disabilities to have a voice. How can we be ready to listen? In this webinar we showcase the work of our practitioner students and the ways in which their research can inform work in the community and improve real-world understanding of the barriers experienced by autistic adults & young people with additional learning disabilities. 

Helen Evans is a Doctoral Researcher within the Autism Centre for Education and Research (ACER), having also completed her MEd in Autism (Adults) at the University of Birmingham. Helen has worked with autistic and learning-disabled people in day provisions and Further Education settings. Helen is also founder of the Inclusive Students as Researcher (iSaR) Community of Practice, for education practitioners developing knowledge around accessible approaches to Student Voice. Drawing on her research and practice, Helen will consider how her work informs practice and opportunities for student voice.

Emma Masfield has worked in the field of autism since her undergraduate days and completed her Masters in Autism (Adults) at the University of Birmingham.  Her career has mostly been in education and is now focused on providing work-based training opportunities at a care farm predominantly for nonspeaking autistic adults. She works for Pennyhooks Farm Trust where they are committed to enabling their clients to participate in activities which offer interest, motivation, joy and a sense of being a valued member of a community. Her dissertation work was based there and explored how simple changes to the environment could help autistic clients to engage. Drawing on this work, Emma will consider implications for autistic individuals and those who support them.

Practitioner paper associated with this webinar:

Evans, H. (2021) ‘Quiet Voice: using creative research methods to increase participation and the voice of learners often overlooked’, Good Autism Practice, 22(1), pp.13 – 23.

There will be time for some Q&A at the end of the webinar.