Supporting Autistic Teenagers & Young Adults 2

Gareth D. Morewood is the Educational Advisor for Studio III. Previously, he worked for 25 years in UK schools, the last 17 of which were as SENCo in a large, inclusive secondary school in the North West of England. Gareth has extensive experience supporting schools, families and working directly with young people in the UK and abroad.

Kathryn Houlahan is a teacher with the Local Authority Communication & Autism Team (CAT) in Birmingham, where she enjoys the privilege of working in partnership with pupils, parents, schools and wider agencies to realise the best possible outcomes for children and young people with a diagnosis of autism.

She began her teaching career in large mainstream secondary schools with a keen interest in learning differences. An interest that had been inspired by a book she had read as a teenager about a pioneering inclusive nursery called Charnwood in her home town of Stockport.

In 2002 Kathryn realised an ambition of working full time in special education and since this time has gained valuable experience of facilitating learning for children and young people with PMLD, SLD, behaviours that challenge, SPLD and autism. She completed an MEd in inclusion & Special Educational Needs at the University of Birmingham in 2011 and continues to learn from and be inspired by the children and young people, their families and the team that she has the pleasure of working with each day.

Nicci Paine qualified with an Honours degree in Occupational Therapy in 1997 and completed her Masters degree in Autism in 2003, and has worked in Paediatrics and Adult Learning Disability services since qualifying. She is a director of Leap Children’s Therapy and as well as running the company, provides direct therapy for children of all ages into adulthood.

Nicci has a special interest in all things autism related and is particularly keen to support the understanding of sensory needs amongst adolescents and adults.

Nicci loves live music, especially festivals and loves to spend lots of time in her mini campervan Juno.

Aaron Yorke is an independent autism advisor, specialist teacher and founder of “Accepting Behaviour”. He has 17 years experience as an SEN Teacher and autism advisor for Local Authorities in the West Midlands. Aaron recently developed and published The ACCEPT Approach™ which is a new acceptance based strategy created to support children and young people with social and communication differences. Aaron is also an autistic adult with ADHD, and is a parent of two autistic children.

Michael Barton is in full-time employment as a Data Analyst. He gives talks around the world, virtually and in person, to a wide range of audiences about his experiences of being autistic. Michael is the author and illustrator of It’s Raining Cats and Dogs and A Different Kettle of Fish. He has also released his third book entitled “What Has Autism Ever Done For Us?”.

He is patron of CASPA – a charity based in South East London which supports young autistic people and their families. In his spare time Michael is an accomplished musician, playing jazz piano, bass guitar, drums and percussion (including the spoons) with a variety of bands. He is also a black belt in judo and a keen rock climber. He lives in Bristol. For more information see www.michaelbarton.org.uk.

Carolyn Frazer is an Autism Trainer/Advisor in Middletown Centre for Autism, formerly employed in Ashfield Girls High School, Belfast, where she supported autistic children and young people to access the curriculum.

She qualified in Speech and Language Therapy and has a Master’s degree in Psychology. During Carolyn’s Masters studies she undertook research on Autism and Bullying and continues to provide training sessions and support for autistic students in this area.

Carolyn’s other areas of specialisms including supporting communication and anxiety for post primary students. She is an associate lecturer on The Post Graduate Certificate in Autism Studies with Stranmillis University College, Belfast.

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Yenn Purkis is an autistic and non-binary author, public speaker and community leader who also has a diagnosis of schizophrenia. Yenn works in the autism/neurodiversity, gender diversity and mental health advocacy spaces.

Yenn is the author of eleven published books on elements of autism and is a regular blogger.

Yenn was named the 2016 ACT Volunteer of the Year and received the ACT Chief Minister’s Inclusion Award in 2019.

Yenn is also a prolific public speaker and has presented at a range of events including at TEDx Canberra in 2013. Yenn works for the Australian Public Service and lives in Canberra, Australia.

Dr Linda Buchan is the Founder and Director of Axia, and a Consultant Clinical Psychologist with a forty-year experience in the field of autism and neurodiversity.

Axia has a vastly experienced multidisciplinary team of diagnosticians including Clinical Psychology, Speech and Language Therapy, Mental Health Nursing, Occupational Therapy, Teachers and prestigious trainers, authors and researchers in the field of Autism. Their model of working is informed by the Partnership Model developed by Professor Hilton Davis and Dr Linda Buchan in the 1980s. This means that parents are viewed as the experts on their children and individuals as experts on themselves.

Three of Axia’s team have written and published books: How Did That Happen? Memoirs of a Dyspraxic Diagnostician by Dr Linda Buchan, The Nerd Consultant’s Guide to Anime by Calvin Atkinson and Mental Models of Reality: A Diatribe by Dream.

Kate E. Reynolds is mother to two young people on the autism spectrum, one who was epileptic and one has learning/intellectual disabilities. She worked for the UK’s National Health Service for 18 years, largely in HIV and sexual health.

Kate has written numerous articles and 15 books, most published by Jessica Kingsley Publishers about aspects of relationships, sexuality, autism, female autism and learning/intellectual disability. She runs workshops for parents and works closely with professionals, as a trainer, consultant and researcher.

Lavinia Dowling has practised as a licensed mental health clinician for 25 years in hospitals (General and Psychiatric), nursing homes for those with dementia and learning/physical disabilities, Huntington’s Chorea (inpatient and community), drug and alcohol rehab, forensics, community teams (CAMHS, adult and older adult), mother and baby units, CAMHS (community, autism screening and assessment, and A&E), and the military (MoD and the NHS).

She works with children, adolescents, young adults, and older adults with a broad range of mental health issues, and has a wealth of experience helping clients who have autism and military trauma.

Yasmin Alexandria works for The M Word CIC and Emotional Problem Solving Ltd as Social Media Manager. For the last few years she has designed and written items with various spin-offs pertaining to mental health.

Yasmin began representing teenagers and young adults in her role as co-host for the well known broadcast “Unearthing”. After a difficult time at school Yasmin finds it vital to give our young people a voice and safe space to be able to express themselves. She offers refreshing and reassuring advice to both our young people and parents alike. Yasmin prides herself on having a very open mindset, and doesn’t like to dodge the difficult questions regarding autism and mental health. She feels honesty is the best course of action due to the still lingering stigma.

Phil Wroe is a teacher specialising in working with children with SEN, and children who are “looked after” by local authorities.

Most of her work is one to one teaching and assessments to identify areas of educational need. Phil also provides training for schools on areas such as dyslexia and literacy difficulties and has been doing this for the past 13 years.

Phil is also an autistic lived experience advisor and founded her company Squarepeg SEN – Support and Education for Neurodiversity this year.

Jasper A. Estabillo, PhD is a Licensed Clinical Psychologist in the UCLA Mattel Children’s Hospital Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics Program and Director of Training at the UCLA Tarjan Center.

She received her doctorate in Clinical Psychology from Louisiana State University and completed her pre and post doctoral training at the UCLA Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior and UCLA Department of Psychology.

She has been a group leader for the PEERS for Young Adults program and involved in the PEERS for Dating research study. Her current work focuses on providing direct clinical services to families, improving clinical training, and expanding access to evidence-based interventions into communities.

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