Specialist Autism Services are hosting an exciting conference with a varied and interesting line-up to celebrate our 10 year anniversary as an organisation and the 20 year anniversary of Sacar.

The conference will focus on the topic of Autism and Wellbeing.

During the conference, you will have the opportunity to listen to renowned speakers from academia, healthcare, the criminal justice system and those with a lived experience of Autism. You will be invited to engage with immersive and knowledge building workshops, browse relevant and inspiring stalls and network with a range of stakeholders and professionals.

We hope you will leave this conference inspired, informed and with deeper insight and some practical advice around improving wellness in people with Autism across a range of environments.

Confirmed Speakers and Workshop Facilitators:

Dr Bhismadev Chakrabarti - Professor of Neuroscience and Mental Health, and Research Director of the Centre for Autism at the School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences, University of Reading

Dr Rita Jordan OBE - Emeritus Professor in Autism Studies: Autism Centre for Education & Research, The School of Education, The University of Birmingham

Ros Blackburn - Renowned national and international speaker with a lived experience of Autism, giving insight into her own experiences and the care and education practices she has observed

Ursula Philpot - Consultant Dietician and Senior Lecturer specialising in eating disorders, disordered eating, mental health and weight management. She has a clinic for eating related problems based in Leeds and regularly features in the media.

Dr Marc Fabri - Senior Lecturer in Creative Technology, Lead for the Technologies for Health and Wellbeing research group, principal Investigator for the Autism & Uni Project (www.autism-uni.org) and Lead for the IMAGE Project (imageautism.com)

Graham Firth - Intensive Interaction Project Leader at Leeds & York Partnership NHS Foundation Trust

Frank Slokan - MSc in Investigative Psychology, National Autism Advisor at The Richmond Fellowship Scotland and expert speaker on the subject of Autism within the Criminal Justice System

Susan Dunne - Author of the highly acclaimed memoir 'A Pony in the Bedroom' (Jessica Kingsley 2015) and expert speaker on the subject of Animal Therapy and Autism

Abbey Goodwin, Clodagh Wall, Abbey Gregory Lees, Natalie Stuart - Social Work Health and Social Care students from the University of Huddersfield researching differences in support and services for people with Autism between Norway and the UK

The Venue

Delegates will receive a hot food buffet, refreshments throughout the day and some useful resources to take away with them.

The venue is fully accessible with lift access, disabled access toilets and an induction loop fitted. There will also be designated quiet rooms available for use by delegates on the day.

Please feel free to take a virtual tour of the event space: https://www.bradfordcityfcevents.co.uk/business-events/

If you are traveling to the conference and staying in Bradford overnight, you can book a room at The Midland Hotel quoting ‘Specialist Autism Conference’ to receive the following room rates:

£59 – Standard room, single occupancy B&B

£69 – Standard room, double occupancy B&B

£10 – Upgrade fee to premium room

£20 – Upgrade fee to executive room

Please email any questions, accessibility adjustments/support requests, or dietary requirements to: conference@specialistautismservices.org

To learn more about Specialist Autism Services, visit our website.