Autistic Experiences of Pregnancy, Childbirth and Early Parenting

SWAN

Built on the voices, experiences and learning of the SWAN community join us to explore what it means to be an autistic individual and parent

SWAN Training

SWAN Training is aimed at professionals from any sector wishing to develop their knowledge and practice for working with or supporting autistic people. These training sessions are focused on professional support and service delivery.

SWAN Training - Autistic Experiences of Pregnancy, Childbirth and Early ParentingDate: Monday 19th May, 2025Time: 1-4pmSWAN Training is aimed at professionals wishing to develop their knowledge and practice for working with or supporting autistic people and are focused on professional support and service delivery. What Can I Expect to Learn: This session includes- theory, research and learning,- lived experiences, and autistic voices- a consideration of neuro-affirming practice, support and interventions Attendees on this course can expect to gain a greater understanding of autistic women and non-binary individuals in general and some of the challenges and barriers autistic women and non-binary individuals face in the perinatal period. Each session will provide more information about how to work therapeutically in a neuro-affirming way with autistic individuals during the different stages of pregnancy, childbirth and early parenting. We will consider current autistic-led research and learning and most importantly, hear from autistic parents and autistic professionals about their experiences and insights. This session will begin an indepth at what it means to be an autistic woman from a lived experience perspective and why this understanding is important when working with autistic mothers.Taking this understanding we will then consider the prenatal period covering topics such as <ul><li>The current landscape of perinatal mental health and physical concerns for autistic women</li></ul><ul><li>Conception and relationships</li></ul><ul><li>Hormones</li></ul><ul><li>Body changes and sensory issues</li></ul><ul><li>The role of our sensory world and interoceptive differences in pregnancy</li></ul><ul><li>Accessibility of services</li></ul><ul><li>Double Empathy and Communication</li></ul><ul><li>Masking and authentic professional relationships</li></ul><ul><li>Mental health and well-being for autistic women during pregnancy</li></ul><ul><li>Baby Loss</li></ul> The session will then focus on the impact of our childbirth experiences, transition to home and early parenting. Exploring: <ul><li>What autistic women carry with them into childbirth - previous experiences, trauma, autistic characteristics</li></ul><ul><li>Birth trauma for autistic women</li></ul><ul><li>Identity transitions</li></ul><ul><li>Breastfeeding</li></ul><ul><li>When things get hard - meltdowns/shutdowns and overwhelm in hospital and at home</li></ul><ul><li>Burnout</li></ul><ul><li>Bonding, monotropism and early parenting</li></ul><ul><li>Rhythms and routines</li></ul><ul><li>Community and connections</li></ul>After the session participants will be sent course notes and further reading and resources around the topics discussed.

<h1>SWAN</h1> <h3>Who we are:</h3>Founded as a charity (SCIO) in 2012 SWAN is an autistic-led Charity, providing services run by and for autistic women and non-binary people across Scotland.SWAN is an organisation led by autistic women, girls and non-binary people for the benefit of autistic women, girls and non-binary people. We create the change we’d like to see in our lives and in society.We do this by providing opportunities to connect with and learn from one another through information sharing, peer support and mentoring. We work in partnership with autistic women, girls and non-binary people and others to drive the change our community wants to see, and to improve the lives of autistic women, girls and non-binary people in Scotland.Note: SWAN is inclusive of all autistic-identity - clinical or non-clinical diagnosis, NHS or private, self-diagnosed or self-identified. <h3>What we do:</h3>We provide a range of autistic-led services for autistic women, girls and non-binary people, including online peer support, wellbeing webinars, pre and post diagnosis support, local meet-up groups and short-term counselling.SWAN also delivers specialist, autistic-led training and consultancy to increase understanding of autism and support you to develop autism-inclusive practices.All of our work is informed by the lived experience of autistic women, girls and non-binary people.For further information on any of our services please contact info@swanscotland.org or visit www.swanscotland.org <h3>Feedback from previous SWAN training:</h3>"I really wish I had heard your workshop so much earlier in my career it would have helped a great many people I have worked with, so insightful" NHS Consultant"This training needs to be rolled out nationally. The expertise of the team is vast." - Children 1st Staff"its brilliant to have authentic training from an autistic person, I find it so useful, all the examples make it much more real and accessible" - CAMHS Clinician"More indepth than anything I have heard before about how life feels and things you can do to help The examples were relevant and part of everyday life and made so much sense." - Support worker"Most educational and enlightening thing I have been to in 2022 can not tell you how helpful it was" - Conference Attendee"So much more positive and strengths based. It made autism real and day to day and the very human impact of lack of understanding and stigma and masking was hard to hear but so important to hear. Coming from an autistic person made it invaluable and authentic and so much more real and true than anything I’ve read" - High School Teaching Staff" The level of detail and expertise around each section of the training was so valuable and It was really interactive, thought provoking and a supportive environment to think and discuss, thank you" Charity Management Staff" The entire session was excellent, this training will really help us improve service delivery" NHS Borders Community Mental Health Teams"All of it was so insightful, and thought provoking. Thinking through communication processes as a two way process between me and a client, thinking through adjustments and sensory environments and setting expectations in relationships. I will never hear the ‘I don’t know’ response to ‘how are you feeling’ in the same way. I loved that my questions were answered from a personal point of view. In that my facilitator knows first hand what the honest and best response was from the point of view of an autistic woman as oppose to theoretically from someone who has studied autism." School Counselling Service

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