world autism awareness day

Meet our teams at special event to support autism acceptance

The annual United Nations World Autism Awareness Day, on Tuesday, April 2, falls during the school Easter holidays.As we know that this means that families and carers may have other commitments during Autism Acceptance Week, we will be running a number of activities in late March and April to help make them accessible for as many people as possible. A highlight will be a Meet the Teams Morning at Greyfriars Church, in the centre of Reading, on Monday, March 25, open to our members, all autistic people that we support, and their parents & carers. Please come along and join us for a free tea or coffee and a chance to chat at this informal event.The Berkshire West Autism & ADHD Support Service’s family support workers and the Berkshire Adult Autism Support Service’s mentors will all be at the event, running from 10am to 11.30am in the Thames Suite at the church, which is in Friar Street, close to the railway station and town centre bus stops. This Meet the Teams session is a free drop-in event, so you can just come along on the day, but we would appreciate it if you are able to let us know in advance that you plan to attend, by registering online.

  • Click here if you are supported by the Berkshire West Autism & ADHD Support Service – which serves Reading, Wokingham and West Berkshire – or want to find out more about the help it provides.
  • Click here if you are supported by the countywide Berkshire Adult Autism Support Service, or want to find out more about the help it provides.

The Meet the Teams session will also provide an opportunity for autistic adults to find out how they can play a role in a major NHS programme to train medical staff about autism and learning disabilites, to help improve the quality of care.The Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training on Learning Disability and Autism project is named after autistic teenager Oliver McGowan, who died in 2018 when staff ignored his and his parents’ protests about him being given anti-psychotic medication at a hospital in Bristol. The drug caused a brain injury and led to his death. His parents led a campaign calling for the NHS to provide compulsory training about autism and learning disabilties. We are working with Buckinghamshire New University nursing lecturer Nathan Green to develop training teams locally, which will include experts by experience who are adults, aged 18+, who are autistic or have learning disabilities.He will be attending our Meet the Teams event and is keen to talk to autistic adults from Berkshire who would like to find out more about these part-time jobs, which are paid roles, so please come along if you are interested in having an informal discussion with Nathan about what the role involves and how to apply. If you are not able to attend the event on March 25, but would like to express an interest in a role with the training teams, please email us at adult.support@autismberkshire.org.uk