Autism & ADHD 2

Dr Annie Clements has over 40 years’ experience in working with both young people, families and neurodivergence.

Annie has vast experience of feeding into local and national policy and strategy and supporting research across several universities. She sat on forums within local government for 20 years feeding into national platforms in relation to instigating change for the ND community.

Annie created the social enterprise Autism & ADHD when she became a fellow of The School for Social Entrepreneurs. Autism & ADHD proved to be ground breaking in the way it developed support with her approach being replicated by other organisations, due to the positive benefits and outcomes of working in this way. Her staff team, as well as being highly trained professionals, are all neurodivergent.

Annie lectures at universities both locally and internationally, was recognised for the passion she has for purpose driven business and was one of 25 CEO’s globally to be interviewed as part of a drive to involve corporate sector in following the ethos of Purpose in Practice. This led to her being invited to be a Fellow of the RSA. It is estimated that her direct work with families has impacted on close to 10,000 families but taking into account the professionals and business’ she has trained, this figure is much higher and this will continue to grow as the organisation reaches more communities globally. All that said, the most important thing to Annie is her family, who themselves are all ND, and are the driving force behind everything she does.

Jannine Perryman MA PCGE is an MSc Psychology student at the University of Liverpool. Jannine is brutally honest and open about her life with ADHD and is passionate about promoting positive outcomes.

Jannine has featured in articles in The Guardian, Society for Education, Training (SET) and ADHD Action. She is a member of the Association of Child and Adolescent Mental Health (ACAMH), and the Society for Education, Training (SET) and student membership of the British Psychological Society (BPS).

Jannine founded ADHD Wise UK with other adults diagnosed with ADHD, to champion the possibilities for all those with ADHD. They offer training and consultancy for schools, colleges, universities and workplaces, as well as skills training, coaching and counselling for ADHD individuals and their families.

Kyra Chambers is an autistic/ADHD parent who identifies with the pathological demand avoidance (PDA) profile of autism. She lives with her husband and two neurodivergent children in the South West of England.

When Kyra’s not supporting her family, she’s blogging and posting online as her alter ego, The Prism Cat – Reflections On Neurodiversity, providing honest insights into what it’s like to be neurodivergent. Her content covers the themes of pathological demand avoidance, sensory integration, late diagnosis, inclusive education and mental health.

Kyra also helps to run and moderate several autistic-led Facebook groups, ranging from localised support to international audiences looking for peer support and understanding.

Libby Hill is a multi-award winning speech and language therapist who set up her organisation, Small Talk Speech and Language Therapy, to bridge the ever-widening gap between the increasing number of children with communication problems and the shortfall within the NHS.

Libby has worked with hundreds of children with PDA since she appeared as part of the Channel 4 series, Born Naughty. Libby works within the PDA community to conduct assessment and therapy for children and young people with PDA, EHCP and Tribunal support, Training on PDA for parents and staff.

Dr Linda Buchan is a Consultant Clinical Psychologist, and the Founder and Director of Axia, a provider of specialist neurodevelopmental assessments for children and adults. Axia is the adult diagnostic pathway for Autism Spectrum Disorder in Greater Manchester ICB (Salford Locality), providing assessments via Right to Choose for other Integrated Care Boards as well as on a self-funded basis.

Linda has over 40 years of experience working with neurodivergent individuals and their families. She was involved in the writing of the NICE guidelines for Autism Spectrum Disorder, as well as a World Health Organisation Study with regards to the writing of ICD-11 diagnostic criteria. Linda is an Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society and member of the British Institute for Learning Disabilities.

Lucy Ridley is a Neurodevelopmental Diagnostician, Safeguarding Lead and Therapy Referrals Co-ordinator at Axia.

Lucy first studied for a Diploma in Social Work and worked in mental health and learning disabilities, focussing primarily on advocacy.

Her passion for autism began in the mid 1990’s when supporting an autistic person for whom she advocated. Over the years, she has been particularly interested and engaged with post-diagnostic support for individuals on a one to one basis.

Lucy is also a mother of three, two of which have been formally identified as autistic through Axia. Consequently she has a large amount of personal experience in dealing with education services, which she politely describes as an exasperating experience (although worth the effort in the long run).

Kelly Niven is the founder of Angels of Sunshine, an organisation offering life coaching to ADHD children and adults, and support to families of children with autism and ADHD.

Kelly is a mother of two sons aged 22 and 20, who have additional needs including ADHD and autism/Asperger syndrome.

Kelly has over 30 years’ experience in the field of special needs and mental health including extensive experience supporting individuals in education.

In 2021, Kelly released her debut book “It Wasn’t me : A survival guide for parents who have children with Asperger’s/Autism”.

Timings

Advance Ticket Prices

Sarah Boon is a neurodivergent author who recently published her first book “Young, Autistic and ADHD: Moving into adulthood when you’re multiply-neurodivergent”.

Sarah is a late-discovered autistic ADHDer herself who also has a MSc in the Psychology of Education and a PgCert in Autism. Sarah provides consultancy on autism, ADHD, dyslexia, and neurodiversity based on both her lived and professional experiences.

Sarah also regularly shares her thoughts about neurodiversity on her blog autisticallysarah.com and social media @saraheboon.

About “Young, Autistic and ADHD: Moving into adulthood when you’re multiply-neurodivergent”:

“Navigating life as a young autistic person with ADHD isn’t always easy. Luckily, Sarah Boon is here to share her own experiences, helping you to explore how autism and ADHD overlap and identify the strategies that will make day-to-day life easier. With chapters focused on adulting, relationships and communication, emotional wellbeing, and mental health, navigating the workplace and more, this book offers practical, tried-and-tested guidance to help you understand your autism and ADHD and overcome some of the hurdles that adulthood may throw your way. Accessible and supportive, ‘Young, Autistic and ADHD’ is the ultimate companion guide for autistic ADHDers, giving you all the advice you need to celebrate your neurodivergent self.”

Tracy Bowyer is the Parenting Services Coordinator for the ADHD Foundation Neurodiversity Charity.

Her role includes the planning, delivery, evaluation and development of strength based programmes to help parents and carers to develop their skills and knowledge to support their neurodivergent child or young person.

Tracy’s professional interest in neurodiversity has spanned many years; prior to joining the ADHD Foundation Neurodiversity Charity, she worked as a Social Worker and had experience of supporting neurodivergent families through the third sector.

In addition to her professional interest in ND, Tracy is a mum to two autistic children, who inspire and fascinate her every day.

TEDx speaker Andrew Whitehouse, is a specialist in neurological diversity and provides interventions for professionals, parents and young people with autism, ADHD, dyslexia and related conditions.

Andrew has a number of roles including trainer, provider of strategies and therapies for education professionals in schools and colleges, observing learners in the learning environment and offering practical solutions to help them achieve their potential.

Andrew runs short courses for Bishop Grosseteste University and the University of Lincoln, and holds a number of UK and overseas contracts. Andrew has delivered three TEDx events including “From Disability to Superpowers” and has an extensive conference profile.

Andrew is also a Forensic SEND Consultant and acts as an expert witness in SEND related court cases.

Professor Peter Hill is a consultant child and adolescent psychiatrist with extensive training and qualifications in general medicine, psychiatry, child and adolescent psychiatry and paediatrics.

His main work nowadays is at a thriving private practice at 35 Great James Street in Bloomsbury, London, focusing on neurodevelopmental disorders and mental illness in the young.
He has previously headed departments at St George’s, University of London, (where he was foundation professor of child mental health in the University of London and is still visiting professor) and at Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children.

Over the years he has advised government departments in the UK and overseas on child mental health issues, particularly service delivery. He has been a key opinion leader in ADHD for some twenty years and has written, lectured or advised on the management of ADHD nationally and internationally.

The themes he has most recently been invited to talk on at various international meetings are the manifestations and treatment of ADHD as children mature through adolescence into adulthood, and how treatment interventions can best be targeted.

Lynn McCann is an autism specialist teacher based at Reachout ASC in Lancashire. She and her team work in education to build support programmes for individual autistic pupils and provide training across the UK in all aspects of support for autistic children and young people. They are committed to sharing the voices of their young people to help others understand autism from their perspective.

Timings

Advance Ticket Prices