Autism Employment Webinars: Supporting Autistic Employees in Social Care

A series of three one-hour webinars examining how people with autism can best be supported within social care workplaces

The webinars will focus on understanding, supporting and working with autistic people in the workplace, especially in learning disability and autism service settings. The content will touch on both positive and negative aspects of employing autistic people and how some of the challenges might be managed.

Each webinar will consist of panellists who are autistic and who are in employement answering questions from the Chair, David Sargent, CEO of Real Life Options, a provider of services for people with a learning disability and autistic people.

Panellists

Clive Parry, Learning Disability and Autism Social Care Consultant

Stephen Gell, Group Risk and Compliance Analyst, Real Life Options

Michelle Rebello, Social Media Officer, Dimensions, and Autism Advocate

The sessions will cover:

· The likelihood that autistic people work in your service, whether or not they have been diagnosed or have told you

· The challenges that autistic people can face at work, including sensory overload,

social energy levels, externally imposed routines and rigidity around morals and ethics

· The challenges that colleagues and managers can experience, for example the requirement to supervise staff consistently and provide autistic employees with clarity about the role they are undertaking

· The positive aspects of autism and being in work for the autistic employee and employer (including the possibility of an affinity with supported people and their families)

· The nature and expression of processing differences

· The nature and expression of sensory differences

· The nature and expression of communication and relationship differences

· The autistic employee and routines (theirs and yours)

Webinar 1: Different Perspectives (12-1pm 19 September 2025)

o Different Perspectives: Each person with a diagnosis or lived experience of autism will share their perspective on what autism means to them. This approach aims to provide a diverse range of insights and a comprehensive understanding of autism.

o Policy Considerations: Important things for employers to think about in relation to policies such as supervision, sickness, annual leave and recruitment.

o Sensory Differences: how do the environments we work in interact with any sensory differences people may have?

Webinar 2: Seeing the Big Picture (12-1pm 26 September 2025)

o Recap of aims and purpose and content discussed during webinar 1

o Focus, attention to detail and seeing the big picture.

o Routines and Autonomy

o The strengths and the positives: Ethical and moral perspectives of autistic individuals, attention to detail, focus and empathy with others

o Creativity: Creative solutions and approaches

Webinar 3: Diagnosis and Empathy (12-1pm 3 October 2025)

o Recap of aims and purpose and content discussed during webinar 2

o Empathy: What is the double empathy problem and how can it affect communication at work?

o Diagnosis: What did your diagnosis mean for you and others?

Please note: Registering means you gain access to all three webinars in the series using the same Microsoft Teams link. The link will be sent to you after registering.