Having worked for over 3 decades in the autism field I am still as motivated as ever to learn more & share what limited knowledge I have. From being a volunteer aged 14 at a special school onwards I have been dedicated to the notion of inclusion. As the Course Leader for the Post Graduate Certificate in Autism I have had the privilege of teaching thousands of students; I am also possibly the only person in the world who is able to claim that the majority of the students I teach per cohort are Autistic themselves – this is a genuine honour. The course itself is designed to be as inclusive as possible & many students feedback that they would not have been able to engage with the course without the adjustments that I put in place as a standard; for example the course can be accessed completely remotely or students can engage in-person; there are multiple ways of completing the course – in fact a student could, should they wish, graduate with an award without ever having written a word.

I am the author of eight books on autism (plus multiple chapters in other books), all of which are neuroaffirming & promote the notion of genuine Autistic inclusion. My equation of Autism + Environment = Outcome is internationally quoted including being part of the statutory Oliver McGowan training & has been cited at Government as an example of best practice – in other words society needs to change the environment to include Autistic people, not try & change the individual. All of my work is based on this principle & the impact on practice is extensive. I am world renowned for advocating for Autistic rights & promoting the philosophies of the Neurodiversity Movement; examples include addressing the United Nations around my ideas of teaching neurodiversity in schools & developing a neurodivergence manual to replace the medical model definitions found within current diagnostic manuals.

Within Hallam I promote inclusion at every opportunity. As the Neurodiversity Champion nominated by the Staff Disability Network, I am an outstanding contributor to the university within the field of inclusion & neurodiversity. A keynote speaker at Hallam Inclusion events, I was one the four panelists for the SHU-wide neurodiversity panel & am an ongoing member of the steering group for SHU Hallam Values & Behaviour. I am also an integral participant in the EDI Round Table events shaping current strategic direction for SHU’s EDI practice. One of the most important recent developments in inclusive practice which I was heavily involved in was the alternative graduation ceremony which is now coming up to its third iteration.  I represent The Autism Centre at the Hallam Values & Behaviours initiative developing SHU protocols & my course was handpicked by the Digital Learning Team as an exemplar Case Study for inclusive pedagogy. My Blogs on inclusion have been published on the SiOE Blog, & I play an integral part in the Listening Rooms project on EDI.

Along with my ‘Golden Equation’ I am also Internationally acclaimed for my inclusive concept of Autopia – Autistic Utopia in which I identify what might be genuine inclusion for the Autistic population. I have provided expert academic input to national bodies such as the British Psychological Association, the Institute for Psychiatry, the Department of Health, & have presented on Autism & Leadership to MPs at Westminster. I was recently a keynote for the British Educational Research Association for their Spotlight on SEND; my presentation last year during Neurodiversity Celebration Week garnered an audience of approximately 100,000 across 158 countries. My address to Google was sent to over 10,000 employees. The organiser of the International Autism Show notes that I am the only non-affiliated speaker invited to be keynote speaker at Autism Show 2 years in a row & the only non-affiliated speaker to be invited more than 3 times to speak at the Autism Show.

I have been invited to tour autism schools in South Africa & delivered CPD events across the nation. Separate to this but on the back of it, I led teaching sessions for the African Institute for Mathematical Sciences Schools Enrichment Centre which subsequently led to materials being developed for dissemination across South Africa around the teaching of neurodivergent students.

I was also the keynote at the inaugural Department of Health funded nationwide GP autism training. In a similar vein, but being invited by a different organization, I have collaborated with London South Bank to develop video training materials for GPs across the UK. I am a member of ‘The Dream Team’ for the Australian-led International Autism Masterclass series which claims to be ‘the definitive Autism & neurodiversity education package, where you can deep dive & learn directly from 28 of the worlds’ leading educators, advocates, researchers, thought leaders & concept originators.’