Workshops for Autistic Adults

Who are the sessions aimed at?

Funded by Southampton City Council and Hampshire County Council, these sessions are for autistic adults who wish to gain more insight into what makes them different and why.

What are the aims of the workshops?

The aim of these workshops is to support participants towards understanding and accepting who they really are rather than teaching them to ‘mask’ or ‘pass for normal’.

Workshop structure:

• The workshops are made up of six sessions which are each two hours long, but people can decide how long they wish to stay for each session.
• There will be a 15-minute break in the middle of the session. Should anyone one need to take a break at any other time they are, of course, free to do so.
• Each group will have up to 10 participants.

When and how often sessions take place:

• Participants can choose to join one of two small groups depending on whether they prefer a morning or evening session.
• Sessions will take place once a month, and the dates are given below.

Schedule

Session 1 - Introduction 

Set the context for the other workshops and explore:

• Competing definitions of what it is to be autistic.
• The diversity of the autistic population.

Session 2 - Thinking

• Differences in the way we think and process the world.
• Accommodating such differences

Session 3 - Communication

• How autistic children might acquire language and move on to develop distinctive styles of communication.
• Ways of enabling better communication between us and non-autistic people.

Session 4 - Social Interaction

• Distinctly autistic ways of being social.
• Strategies for avoiding social burnout.

Session 5 - Sensory Perception

• How reactions to everyday stimuli may give clues as to our unique sensory profiles.
• Ways to stimulate or calm our senses.

Session 6 - Reasonable Adjustments

• Legislation and guidance concerning equality and discrimination.
• How such legislation and guidance applies to us.

In need of a different type of workshop or training course? We can provide bespoke training courses for individuals or organisations. Find out more here.