Understanding Sensory Processing & Autism – Post Event Access

Sue Allen is a Consultant Occupational Therapist based in Singapore and the UK.

Sue is a clinician, lecturer and researcher. Sue has worked as an Occupational Therapist for 27 years in both hospital, school and community settings and has a keen interest in improving quality of life for children and their families. Sue served on the SI Network Board of directors from 2005 and was Chairman from 2008 to 2013. Sue is a marker for SI2/3 and 4 and a mentor for SI4 and a Recognised Lecturer with University of Ulster. Sue was awarded her Advanced Sensory Integration Practitioner Certificate (2005) and a Sensory Integration Network Fellowship (2013)

Research interests include therapy outcomes, supporting families and sensory processing in dyspraxia. Sue is currently involved in projects with University of Reading and University of Ulster and is the primary recipient of an SI Network Research Grant supporting the identification of incidence of sensory processing difficulties in children with dyspraxia.

Laura Graham is an independent occupational therapist working with children and young people across a range of settings.

Laura is an advanced practitioner in Sensory Integration and provides occupational therapy support to a range of mainstream, special and independent education provisions across the Midlands. Laura has a special interest in the links between sensory processing and early childhood trauma and provides services via a number of local authorities to support children and young people who have experienced adverse early childhoods and attachment disruption.

Laura has been recognised by the Queens Nurses Institute for her work, via the innovation and leadership award and has also been acknowledged by the Royal College of Occupational Therapists children’s, young people and families specialist section at conference for her presentations. She has lectured for the Sensory Integration Network UK and Ireland and is due to publish her first book later in 2021.

Reece M Coker is an autistic individual and a passionate autism advocate.

As a fellow of the Institute of Leadership and Management, and Royal Society of Public Health, he is an experienced trainer, qualified psychologist, and sector expert within the subjects of Positive Psychology, Motivation, Organisational Development and Culture, Neurodiversity and Inclusion, and Business Management.

A senior manager within the corporate, commercial and not-for-profit sectors, Reece is passionate about learning and development at all levels. He completed his Masters in Applied Positive Psychology (MAPP) at Bucks New University in 2016, where his research focused on hope and fear, and is currently completing a PhD in Education and Psychology at Sheffield Hallam University with a focus on courage, anxiety, and autism.

He leads and lectures on the Positive Psychology and Autism Awareness in Practice Programmes at the PPG Autism Centre.

Alison Neal is the Director of Midlands Occupational Therapy and provides specialist occupational therapy services for children and young adults with a range of difficulties.

Alison is an advanced practitioner in sensory integration therapy; she has several years experience of providing post graduate training to other therapists on this subject and has co-authored a book on sensory movement breaks. Alison works with families, children and young people at home and in a variety of mainstream or special schools and colleges to find solutions to everyday problems that actually work and can be implemented at home or school. She can also offer assessments for EHC plans and tribunals where necessary.

Kim Griffin is a Paediatric Occupational Therapist and founder of GriffinOT.

Kim qualified as an occupational therapist in Australia in 2003. Since then, she’s had the privilege of working with many children and their families, as well as teachers in Australia, Ireland and the UK. A core focus of her career has been helping children who have sensory processing differences and/or motor skill challenges. This includes extensive experience supporting children with autism/ASD, developmental delays, dyspraxia/DCD and specific learning difficulties. In addition, she’s completed training with many of the leaders in the field of sensory integration, such as Lucy Miller and Zoe Mailloux.

Sarah Mason (MSc, MPhil, MRCSLT) is a Speech and Language Therapist at Birmingham Food Refusal Services and one of the UK’s leading Speech and Language therapists in the field of food acceptance and refusal.

Sarah has worked with children with feeding difficulties for more than twenty years. She was employed by Birmingham Children’s Hospital from 1992 to 2012, latterly as Head of the Department. Her particular specialism was childhood feeding difficulties, providing clinical services to inpatients. Many of these children had problems related to their medical conditions and the interruption to the normal process of weaning onto solid foods in the first year of life. Frequently children would refuse foods orally and therefore did not develop the oral skills for eating and drinking. These problems brought her into contact with Dr Gillian Harris, Consultant Clinical Psychologist, and together they set up a joint feeding clinic at Birmingham Children’s Hospital in 1998. Through this work she encountered children with avoidant/restrictive food intake disorder (ARFID) and developed an understanding of why children refuse foods.

Following her retirement from the NHS in 2012, Sarah is continuing her interest in feeding difficulties through teaching and consulting work. She is an Associate of Birmingham University and a member of the National Steering Group for Childhood Feeding Disorders. She is an experienced presenter of formal and informal lectures to a wide range of audiences.

Laura Graham is an independent Occupational Therapist working with children and young people across a range of settings. Laura is an advanced practitioner in Sensory Integration and provides occupational therapy support to a range of mainstream, special and independent education provisions across the midlands. She has a special interest in the links between sensory processing and early childhood trauma and provides services via a number of local authorities to support children and young people who have experienced adverse early childhoods and attachment disruption.

Laura has been recognised by the Queens Nurses Institute for her work, via the innovation and leadership award and has also been acknowledged by the Royal College of Occupational Therapists children’s, young people and families specialist section at conference for her presentations. She has lectured for the Sensory Integration Network UK and Ireland and is due to publish her first book later in 2021.

Paul Isaacs has been a speaker, trainer and consultant for eight years and has spoken at many national events on the subject of autism. He has authored five books and contributed to other books on the subject of autism. He is also a blogger and creative consultant on the the cartoon Pablo, supplying story ideas, perspectives and content.