Mindfulness is widely recognised as one of the most useful skills we can learn to help us handle stress in our lives.

The most recent NICE guidelines, for doctors, now includes mindfulness training as one of the options for people with mild depression. Many people with anxiety also find mindfulness useful.

Like most skills, mindfulness is best learned with the help of an expert and then practised regularly to maintain its effectiveness. It has been compared to “press-ups” for the mind!

About this workshop?

In this workshop the trainer, Bob Chase, will explain the core principles of mindfulness and offer the opportunity to join in some mindfulness training practices.

At the end of the workshop participants should be in a better to position to judge whether Mindfulness training is something might be useful for them and whether the training style is appealing and accessible to them. Mindfulness is presented as a valuable component of a wider personal well-being strategy.

The workshop is online and lasts for 90 minutes. It includes a period for questions and answers with the trainer. Numbers are kept low with a maximum of 12 people.

Who are they for?

These workshops are aimed at adults with autism who are seeking self-help practices to help them cope better with stress. This includes anxiety and mild levels of depression. If you are curious about whether mindfulness is appropriate for you, this workshop will help you decide.

How is it “autism aware”?

We know that, overall, people with autism experience higher levels of stress, anxiety and depression than the neurotypical population. We know that mindfulness may be useful to those people.

Autism aware mindfulness training, in so far as it can, takes into account the neurodiversity of the trainees. Especially by offering alternatives in the practices and in presenting the material in a clear, concrete and non-abstract way.

The workshop is led by a trainer who is knowledgeable about autism, supported by an ASM Mentor.

About the team

Bob Chase has been a meditation practitioner for over 30 years. He is certified as a “Trained (Mindfulness) Teacher” by Bangor University Centre for Mindfulness Research and Practice.

A long term advocate of digital accessibility, Bob worked for the National Autistic Society for seven years as their head of Digital Services. Whilst at the NAS he set up their Online Community for Autistic people and their families. Bob has worked with many autistic colleagues and has mentored autistic adults. He has created the website Neurodiversity in Mindfulness which has hosted two international webinars.

Gurleen Manku is a Regional Employment Consultant for AS Mentoring.