Sarah, one of our autism ambassadors, tells us all about last year’s event.
“In May 2023 we held our first autism awareness event in Torbay at the Riviera Internal Centre. It was a big success. Over 70 health and social care professionals attended to hear about the lived experiences of the Autism Ambassadors on getting diagnosed, of barriers to healthcare, mental health, growing up in care, and life as an autistic adult. We were joined in presenting by speakers from the wider autistic community in Devon who gave talks on executive functioning, eating disorders, achievement and accessibility in sport, and being autistic in professions such as General Practice and teaching.
For some of the Ambassadors this was the very first time they had ever participated in a public speaking event. It is daunting for anyone to stand up and talk in front of a room full of people, but to do this for the first time in front of a room of professionals and talk about our lived experience is a huge achievement.
The event was really impactful, and sometimes emotional, for those who attended, and we received lots of informative and positive feedback which we are really grateful for. It was also a great experience for us in developing our confidence and putting autistic voices at the centre of conversations about health and social care.
A related success is that this increased awareness of health inequalities for autistic people in Torbay contributed to Torbay Hospital being the first place in Devon to book on to tier 2 training sessions of the Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training, and Heidi and Sarah are now also expert by experience co-trainers delivering this training.
We are now excited to be planning our next event for later in 2024 focusing on employment and education, and hope this will be just as successful.”