Description
An international conference for autistic young people and their families was hosted by Summerhill College, Sligo on Saturday September 24th, 2022. This conference was the first of its kind to be held in Ireland, and the conference, ‘What Next? - Pathways into further studies and employment’ aimed to provide a unique opportunity for young autistic people, their parents and families, as well as employers to hear from other autistic people about their experiences in further education and employment.I was invited as a keynote speaker to talk about my mentorship chapter in the book ‘Learning from Autistic Teachers: How to Be a Neurodiversity Inclusive School’, edited by Dr Rebecca Wood and colleagues. Other keynote speakers included - Temple Grandin, Adam Harris, Jim Hogan, Padraig O'Hora, Esther Doyle, Declan Treanor, Shelley Brady, Amanda McGuinness, Frances O'Neill, Brian Gill, Phil Brennan, Noreen Murphy and many more.
I also delivered a workshop designed to share detail about my Autistic lived experience to parents/educators of Autistic children and young people to encourage critical reflection on approaches to supporting Autistic children and young people. Themes covered in the workshop included real life examples of key autism concepts such as prosopagnosia, aphantasia, Autistic inertia, monotropism and the double empathy problem.
| Period | 24 Sept 2022 |
|---|---|
| Event title | International conference for autistic young people and their families: What Next? - Pathways into further studies and employment |
| Event type | Conference |
| Location | IrelandShow on map |
| Degree of Recognition | International |
Keywords
- mentorship
- employment
- Autistic experience
- neurodiversity-affirming