All of the content on these pages is free to watch. Sessions marked * indicate where CEUs are available. There are 6 in total providing at least one Learning or Ethics Credit for just £5 per CEU. For more information on how to redeem credits, click to fill out the form after watching.

Presenter	Session title
Dr Virginia Bovell OBE, Co-Founder, Ambitious about Autism	Bests interests and the good life (Danny’s story)
Sheila Sekasi, BCBA, Founder, Advancements ABA Ltd	The impact of racism on service provision for autistic individuals*
Dr Catherine Storey, BCBA, Lecturer in Behaviour Analysis, Queen’s University Belfast	Promoting stakeholder engagement in autism research: video-based interventions for promoting social behaviour*
Jordana Smallwood, BCBA, Head of Sixth Form, BeyondAutism and Emma Price, Head of Tram House School, BeyondAutism	How wellbeing and choice build independence
Tom Bailey, Head of Therapy Services, BeyondAutism	How to give people a voice and how it changes outcomes
Dr Sandy Toogood, BEM, BCBA-D, Honorary Professor, College of Human Sciences, Bangor University	Increasing autonomy and control among persons requiring additional support*
Dr Nick Gore, BCBA, Senior Lecturer in Learning Disability, University of Kent	Goal formation and engaging people directly in their own functional assessment*
Sarah Larner, BCBA, Behaviour Analyst, BeyondAutism	Engage, communicate and play: Early Years model*
Bobbie Stone, BCBA, Consultant Behaviour Analyst, BeyondAutism	Independence is everyone’s right: how do we deliver it?*
Discussant: Dr Louise Denne, BCBA, Senior Research Fellow, University of Warwick Panellists: Dr Virginia Bovell OBE, Sheila Sekasi, Dr Nick Gore, Elizabeth Robinson, Dr Sandy Toogood	Panel: Whose decision is it anyway?

 

Bests interests and the good life (Danny’s story)

Dr Virginia Bovell OBE, Co-Founder, Ambitious about Autism

This talk explores the notion of “Best Interests” with regard to autism and learning disability. Using her own experience as Danny’s mother, in situations that have required decisions on his behalf, Virginia raises questions about the role of un-examined bias (her own, as well as practitioners’ and clinicians’). The talk includes a discussion of the neurodiversity movement’s critique of ABA, the quest for autonomy, and the challenges involved in advocating for a learning-disabled adult.

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The impact of racism on service provision for autistic individuals

Sheila Sekasi, BCBA, Founder, Advancements ABA Ltd

This presentation looks at how the prevalence of institutional racism and intersectionality, can impact non-white, autistic individuals. The consideration taken by those responsible for teaching, supporting and caring for non-white, autistic individuals, when making choices for the population they work with, is explored. Along with how training and education can improve practice and the quality of service provided. Claim your CEU for Sheila’s session.

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Promoting stakeholder engagement in autism research: video-based interventions for promoting social behaviour

Dr Catherine Storey, BCBA, Lecturer in Behaviour Analysis, Queen’s University Belfast

‘Stakeholder’ can be defined as “any group or individual who is affected by or can affect the achievement of an organisations’ objectives” (Freeman, 1984). This presentation focuses on the importance of involving autistic people and other stakeholders in the research that is conducted about their lives, from planning the project through to dissemination of outcomes, to bridge the gap between research and practice and ensure that Autism research is meaningful and impactful to those individuals to whom it directly relates. Cat draws on a Campbell Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis that invited stakeholders to participate in an expert advisory group that will directly advise the project partners on the most useful and impactful data that should be extracted.

While Autism research has had many positive implications for Autistic individuals and key stakeholders, certain areas have become saturated with research, while the evidence is sparse in others. To that end, Cat discusses the importance of using Evidence and Gap maps in Autism research to determine where there are gaps in evidence which should be given priority for future research, while also identifying where there is sufficient research for systematic review and meta-analysis. Claim your CEU for Cat’s session.

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How wellbeing and choice build independence

Jordana Smallwood, BCBA, Head of Sixth Form, BeyondAutism and Emma Price, Head of Tram House School, BeyondAutism

Jordana and Emma explore what it takes to meaningfully address wellbeing and mental health in staff and service users. It’s not enough to just say you do it. You have to plan for and create structures to support mental health and wellbeing for everyone, and understand how you will measure its success.

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How to give people a voice and how it changes outcomes

Tom Bailey, Head of Therapy Services, BeyondAutism

This session looks at how we can use a Total Communication approach to enable learners to have a voice and make choices on a daily basis. Tom provides examples of how choices can be made through a variety of AAC devices and Total Communication approaches. He also takes an in-depth look at the experience of supporting a Mental Capacity Assessment to ascertain choice of living arrangement for an older learner.

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Increasing autonomy and control among persons requiring additional support

Dr Sandy Toogood, BEM, BCBA-D, Honorary Professor, College of Human Sciences, Bangor University

People with intellectual disabilities and autism may be deprived of opportunities and expectations for choosing that most take for granted. This talk explores the challenge of building opportunities and support within services for persons with intellectual disabilities and autism to take control of their lives. Personal routines, household customs, focused and general case teaching, together with the purposeful creation of opportunity, are proposed as mechanisms that have a history of being applied but that have not yet become common place. Claim your CEU for Sandy’s session.

Due to a technical issue, the introduction to Sandy’s session didn’t record. 

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Goal formation and engaging people directly in their own functional assessment

Dr Nick Gore, BCBA, Senior Lecturer in Learning Disability, University of Kent

Nick discusses how PBS in the UK increasingly emphasises direct engagement with people for whom behavioural support is the focus and how this is referenced within the updated UK definition of PBS (2022). He shares some research that has explored ways for people with communication complexities to generate goals for their behavioural support and contribute to functional assessments. Claim your CEU for Nick’s session.

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Engage, communicate and play: Early Years model

Sarah Larner, BCBA, Behaviour Analyst, BeyondAutism

Sarah talks through how the unique model followed at BeyondAutism’s Early Years Service focusses on empowering parents to make decisions, as well as promoting choice and independence in their children from the beginning. The assessment tools used within the service allow for an emphasis on skills teaching; promoting learning through play. Working with parents and children at an early stage allows the foundation to be set to encourage independence and decision-making as they move through childhood into adolescence and beyond. Claim your CEU for Sarah’s session.

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Independence is everyone’s right: how do we deliver it?

Bobbie Stone, BCBA, Consultant Behaviour Analyst, BeyondAutism

Bobbie’s session describes how we work towards “just enough support” in our services. Bobbie advocates independence as a right, and that it has to be overtly taught and progressed over the educational life span and beyond. The challenge of course is making sure everyone, means everyone. Breaking down the societal constraints on who can gain independence is the reason behind the development of the Independence Framework at BeyondAutism. Bobbie takes us through how this was created and its impact for BeyondAutism’s learners. Claim your CEU for Bobbie’s session.

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Panel: Whose decision is it anyway?

Discussant: Dr Louise Denne, BCBA, Senior Research Fellow, University of Warwick

Panellists: Dr Virginia Bovell OBE, Sheila Sekasi, Dr Nick Gore, Elizabeth Robinson, Dr Sandy Toogood

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