Around 4,000 visitors are expected with the return of The Autism Show, which will feature exhibitors offering advice about schools, support services, therapies, teaching aids, sensory equipment and furniture.
The event takes place on Friday 15 and Saturday 16 June at London’s ExCel exhibition centre. Autism Eye magazine will be on Stand E10, against the right-hand wall as you enter the show, where we will be giving away copies of our bumper June issue. There will also be a special 25 per cent discount for new subscribers at the event.
A range of professionals, including speech and language therapists, certified behaviour analysts, solicitors, occupational therapists, educational psychologists and welfare rights advisers will be on hand to offer personal advice in the 1-2-1 Clinics.
These free consultations will last for 30 or 40 minutes and can be booked on the day you attend the show on a first-come, first-served basis.
One of the key attractions of the show will be the presentations in the Autism Matters Theatre.
Autism Eye has organized one of these. It will feature Professor Ricky Richardson, senior consultant paediatrician at Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital, and Dimitrios Mylonadis, head of Hopscotch Children’s Therapy Centre in Harley Street and a world-renowned sensory integration expert. They will speak on the way forward for multi-disciplinary assessment and sensory integration therapy. The talk takes place at 12.00 on Friday.
Other presentations will include Carol Povey, director of the National Autistic Society, reflecting on the policy, practice and scientific initiatives that have taken place over the past year.
Individuals with autism will be presenting several sessions. On Saturday at 3pm, Simon Smith and his mother Kim will talk about his experiences of being autistic and how it affects his everyday life.
Following its success last year, the Autistic Rights Movement will again provide speakers for the Autism Talks open-plan theatre in the centre of the hall. Individuals on the spectrum will describe what it means to live with autism, providing a valuable insight for everyone in the autism community.
The climax of the event will be a presentation on Saturday at 3.4pm by Ari Ne’eman, who advises President Obama and the American Congress on disability policy issues. He is the founding president of the Autistic Self Advocacy Network and is himself on the spectrum. His talk addresses the theme of Autism, Ethics and the Future of Human Rights.
Parents visiting with their children can make use of the quiet and sensory rooms made available by Mike Ayres Design. This year, Rompa will create another sensory feature, an ‘Inside Out’ area that explores the senses through visual, tactile, aromatic and audio delights.
Details of all the presentations can be found on the Autism Show’s website: http://www.autismshow.co.uk/
Austism Eye has 25 tickets to give away to the Autism Show event. Tickets normally cost £10 from the Autism Show’s website or £15 at the door. There is no charge for children under 16 when accompanied by an adult. Once inside all the events are free.
If you would like to win one of our tickets for the return of The Autism Show, please send an email to gillian.loughran@autismeye.com with Tickets in the subject line. Applicants will be entered into a raffle.
Published: 10 June 2012
