Understanding and Supporting Autistic People during the Perinatal Period

SWAN Training: Understanding and Supporting Autistic People during the Perinatal Period

Date: Monday 1st June and Monday 8th June 2026

Time: 12:00-1:30pm

This training is split into two 1.5 hour sessions following feedback. Your ticket will give you access to both sessions.

SWAN 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 course is designed to deepen participants’ understanding of the unique experiences and challenges faced by autistic birthing people and their partners throughout pregnancy, childbirth, and early parenting. The two sessions build to guide learners through a structured exploration from autistic identity to practical strategies for neuro-affirming support. The course emphasises integration of autistic-led research, personal stories, and direct experiences from autistic parents and professionals.

The course aims to empower professionals with actionable strategies and a deeper empathy for autistic birthing people and their partners in the perinatal period, ensuring that their voices lead the way in shaping responsive, inclusive care.

These interactive sessions will cover:

Session 1

• Understanding Autistic Identity and Lived Experience

• Navigating Prenatal Challenges

Session 2

• Childbirth Experiences and Support Strategies

· Early Parenting – Bonding, Routines, and Community Connections

What to expect from each session:

Session 1: Understanding Autistic Identity and Lived Experience

We begin by exploring what it means to be an autistic woman or non-binary individual, drawing directly from lived experience. This session highlights the importance of understanding identity—how masking, trauma, and feeling safe intersect with parenthood. Participants will hear first-hand accounts from autistic birthing people and professionals.

The session then delves into the specific challenges encountered during the prenatal period. Topics include perinatal mental health, physical changes, relationships, hormones, and accessibility of services. We examine the impact of sensory issues and interoceptive differences in pregnancy, again centring autistic-led research and voices.

Session 2: Childbirth and Early Parenting - Experiences and Support Strategies

Session two builds on our examination of prenatal strengths and challenges by focusing on childbirth and early parenting. We begin by exploring how previous experiences, trauma, environments, relationships, and autistic characteristics can influence the birthing process. Particular attention is given to identity transitions and the need for practical support.

We then turn to the topic of birth trauma and consider what it means to feel safe in hospital settings. Building on our exploration of birth trauma, we next consider the challenges associated with breastfeeding, as well as what contributes to the occurrence of meltdowns and shutdowns during this period.

Following our discussion on these challenges, we will shift focus to sensory experiences, both in hospital and at home. We examine how knowing and understanding sensory profiles can impact autistic birthing people during and after childbirth, providing practical examples and strategies for support.

As the session continues to explore reframing parenting through a neuroaffirming lens we will examining bonding, monotropism, routines, burnout, and the role of community. We discuss neurodivergent wellbeing and the importance of connection.

Throughout, autistic-led insights and personal stories will anchor understanding in lived experience and practical application.

SWAN

Who we are:

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.

What we do:

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

Feedback from previous SWAN training:

"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