Championing change through lived experience

14th November 2025

Having joined Autism Hampshire’s external training team last year, Matt brings a unique dual perspective to his role - as both a resident of our supported living service and a lived experience employee.

Matt is one of the trainers delivering the Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training on Learning Disability and Autism, commissioned by Hampshire and Isle of Wight Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust.

This essential training equips health and social care staff with the knowledge and insight to support autistic individuals and people with learning disabilities.

“It’s one of the most enjoyable jobs in the whole wide world,” Matt said. “I help staff think about what went wrong and how they can stop making assumptions. I don’t tell them they’re doing a bad job - I help them make healthcare better for people with learning disabilities.”

Matt’s sessions are grounded in lived experience. He shares personal stories of navigating services, overcoming barriers, and living independently - helping professionals understand the real-world impact of their decisions and the importance of listening.

One of the most powerful parts of the training is the story of Oliver McGowan, whose tragic death in 2016 highlighted the urgent need for better understanding in healthcare. Matt speaks with heartfelt respect for Paula McGowan, whose courage transformed personal tragedy into a national movement for change.

“She put her personal life to one side and started campaigning. That’s unbelievable. I don’t think any other parent could do that.”

Matt’s journey into the role began last October, and since then, he has helped train hundreds of NHS staff across Hampshire. It is estimated that he has trained around 1600 healthcare professionals in the last seven months alone!

The sessions are delivered face-to-face by a trio of lived experience experts and facilitators.

Outside of work, Matt lives independently in a studio flat and receives support with daily tasks like shopping and cooking.

He’s proud of his achievements, including travelling to Australia on his own to visit family, a milestone that reflects his growing confidence and independence.

“It gives me the sense of doing stuff on my own,” he says. “I’ve actually achieved going to Australia literally on my own. I’ve always gone with family before, but two years ago I did it all by myself.”

Matt’s story is a powerful reminder of the value of lived experience in shaping services and training. His work is helping to build a more compassionate, informed healthcare system - one training session at a time.

To find out more about Oliver McGowan training, visit https://autismhampshire.org.uk/how-we-can-help/training-consultancy/oliver-mcgowan-training/.

Video transcript:

I am Matt
I am a service user here and also
employee with Autism
Hampshire
my life here is very good here
this is a studio flat bed sit
so bedroom lounge kitchen
I love living here
it gets me the sense of
doing stuff on my own
I get support with doing
shopping mostly
I get support with cooking food
I get support with cleaning
I can do those but I get support with it
as well
so that's best of both worlds really
I wanted to let...
I wanted to make more people have
more learning disability
learning disability and autism training
because it's... because it's so powerful
it's really emotional
[Paula McGowan] she feels angered
that her son [Oliver McGowan] was
wrongly ignored
and she was wrongly ignored
I do help staff in healthcare to
not... I don't necessarily...
I don't tell them that they're
doing a bad job and
they should all be badly ashamed
no I don't do that
I help them to try and think about what
went wrong
and how they can
stop making assumptions
and just try to make better
healthcare for people
with a learning disability
I understood from me doing it
that it was a really hard job for me to do
and equally important
trainings were challenging but
quite good
but also challenging and
I was proud of being approved
so there's a benefit of having me there
because they learn from my... from
our own experiences
so it's best...
a lived learning disabled and
brilliant
experts
with lived
autism because you get to listen to us
share our experiences of living with
both learning
disability and autism and how we
struggled with
and how we
gone over barriers that we had to go through
it's one of those
most enjoyable job in the
whole wide world
I feel proud about doing this job
we train up to 1,000* NHS staff
and that is an awful lot of people that...
an awful lot of NHS
staff that we train