Autism Berkshire is pleased to announce the return of our All About Autism conference for 2020 at The Curve library and cultural hub in Slough after a successful first event last year.
Once again, the conference on Tuesday, March 31, will be the centrepiece of our support for World Autism Awareness Week.
As well as a number of expert speakers in the main auditorium, looking at several aspects of autism, we are introducing some smaller workshop sessions to focus on different topics.
These will look at:
- Food Refusal, with Autism Berkshire family support worker Julia Cox
- Autism and Siblings, with staff from the Swings & Smiles SEN playcentre in Thatcham
- Self-Care for Carers, with hand massage and advice from soft tissue therapist Kathryn Mitchell
We will ask everyone attending the conference for their preferences as to which workshop they would like to attend and do our best to give people their first choice.
The workshops and lunch breaks will be staggered, with delegates given a colour-coded wristband to indicate which workshop and lunch sessions they should attend.
Autism Berkshire’s chief executive officer, Jane Stanford-Beale, said: “After a successful debut last year, with more than 120 parents, carers and professionals attending, we are delighted to be able to bring All About Autism back to The Curve.
“Once again, we have a great line-up of speakers, with sensory issues in the spotlight this time, and hope people will benefit from the addition of the interactive workshop sessions.”
The conference will run from 9.45am to 3pm, and is open to parents and carers of autistic children and young people living in the east of Berkshire* (the Bracknell Forest, Slough and Windsor & Maidenhead council areas), professionals who support autistic children and young people and their families, or those whose jobs bring them into contact with autistic people and who want to learn more, and students.
*We will make tickets available to parents and carers from the rest of Berkshire at a later date if space is available.
The conference agenda is as follows:
- 09.15-9.45 Registration
- 09.45 Welcome & Introduction: Jane Stanford-Beale, CEO Autism Berkshire
- 10.00 Autism and Anxiety: Dr Fiona Knott, associate professor and director of the Centre for Autism at the University of Reading
- 10.45 Growing up Autistic – How Diagnosis Helped Me: Berkshire autism advocate Conor Eldred-Earl
- 11.10 Refreshment break and Tovertafel magic table light games demonstration
- 11.40 Sensory reactivity and anxiety in autistic children: Keren MacLennan, PhD researcher and assistant psychologist at the Centre for Autism at the University of Reading
- 12.30 First series of workshops or lunch break
- 13.25 Second series of workshops or lunch break
- 14.00 Sensory Processing in Schools: Sharon Wignall, of Windsorian Occupational Therapy.
- 14.45 Closing remarks
- 15.00 Close – Autism Berkshire’s information stand will be open in the foyer until 15.30, plus another demonstration of the Tovertafel magic table
Tickets are priced £10 (plus a £1.37 booking fee) for parents and carers and for students and £20 (plus a £2.15 booking fee) for professionals. This price includes a sandwich lunch and light refreshments during the day.
Click here to book tickets for All About Autism 2020.
Professionals who require an invoice should contact Autism Berkshire’s administrator, Georgie Mitchell, on 01189 594 594 or email admin@autismberkshire.org.uk
The Curve is in Slough town centre. It is two minutes’ walk from the bus station, in Wellington Street, and five minutes’ walk from Slough railway station, which is served by frequent trains on the Great Western Railway main line between Reading, Maidenhead and London Paddington and on the branch line from Windsor & Eton Central station.
There is no car parking available at The Curve* but there are several public car parks nearby and the Herschel Street car park offers discounted rates for visitors to The Curve – please note that parking tickets must be taken to The Curve and be validated there to secure the discount.
*The Curve has one disabled parking bay, which must be booked in advance by calling 07850 067119.
- The conference is supported by the East Berkshire NHS Clinical Commissioning Group.
