Aspect Autism Friendly

Aspect Autism Friendly delivered #AutismFriendly training for the Art Gallery NSW volunteer staff last week. Rebecca McCash and Tom Tutton spoke to over 60 of the galleries amazing volunteers. There was a depth of knowledge and great engagement from the volunteers who all help to make the Gallery work so well. Thanks to Danielle Gullotta and Roseann Papalimperis for facilitating. The Art Gallery of NSW's next sensory-friendly 'Art After Hours' session likely to be Wednesday 4 December

Thank you to Lisa Whinnen and Natalie Phillips-Mason for sharing your expertise about #AutismFriendly retail initiatives in the Aspect 'Different Brilliant' podcast. It's so important to hear from people with such knowledge of the industry and the encouragement that this work is relatively low cost and high impact for #Autistic people and their families as well as being good business sense for companies. Kudos as ever to Madeleine Jaine Lobsey for hosting and supporting such an important conversation https://lnkd.in/dCNv8XYF

A new article with Aspect Research Centre for Autism Practice - ARCAP and Aspect Autism Friendly writing about #autism and #sport in the online Play by the Rules magazine The majority of Autistic people want to do more sport and activity. Most of the changes that enable this are known, not that costly or difficult to implement. 🏀 🏊♂️ ⚽ 🎾 👯 https://lnkd.in/gNhxtUBf

Engaging #ADifferentBrilliant podcast about #Autism and #Travel with Madeleine Jaine Lobsey talking challenges, strategies and progress The solutions are with parents and experts Ainslie Robinson, airports Kate Bondar & Sydney Airport, airlines and peak bodies like Australian Airports Association working together with Autism Spectrum Australia (Aspect) to be more #AutismFriendly "One of the most amazing things about our training program is how people respond when they come out. The team at Aspect Autism Friendly are so wonderful in how they give that training to our staff. But the feedback I get about that and just how useful it is in everyday life, that's probably the most exciting thing and not something I expected..." Kate Bondar Sydney Airport 🤗 Well worth a listen 💡 https://lnkd.in/gYWh3SgT

Emma Watkins We can’t wait to share these performances with you. Thank you so much for your support and encouragement 💛

We're excited to see this fantastic initiative from Danny Egarchos and Western Sydney Wanderers FC and to be part of their work to make sport and activity accessible to all. Do let us know if you are interested!

Another #Podcast that captures the issues and complexities of developing an #AutismFriendly world. A popular design podcast, this show covers that challenges of certification, different models, individualisation, the built and social environments and more. Dimmable lights, quiet spaces, no overhead bright lights etc… what would you add to your Autism Pleasantville ? https://lnkd.in/gA4kKvVj

“Retail settings can be overwhelming for everyone. Imagine those feelings multiplied by 100! I often don’t set foot in a mall or shop without my headphones and sunglasses as a buffer.” - Autistic Lived Experiance Consultant, Rebecca Street Shops are often very autism unfriendly but shopping is an essential part of living. This is why Aspect Autism Friendly has made it a priority to work in #retail to make accessing shops and services as easy and welcoming as possible. Aspect Autism Friendly is working with Stockland Malls and consultants such as Inclusive Change and has worked in a limited way with Shoes & Sox, The Athlete's Foot Australia & New Zealand, Kmart Australia Limited and Target. Articles like the one below help spread the word about best practices to create inclusive and accessible shopping environments for Autistic people.

Any budding #Autistic journalists interested in an training and TV opportunity? This TV program aims to demonstrate that Journalism will benefit from neurodivergent journalists and that Autism Spectrum Australia (Aspect)'s #AutismFriendy supports help remove barriers to employment. It is unpaid but does come with high value University training and promotion.

Autistic students’ participation in schools: the role of school environment A new paper by Li & colleagues - open access here https://lnkd.in/gtG6pB6D - reviews factors that limit (and can improve) Autistic students’ participation in schools The researchers surveyed 200 Autistic #students in the Netherlands (aged 4 to 16 and without co-occurring Intellectual Disability) reviewing personal, family and school related factors. In their discussion they highlighted the following “Regarding school factors, the impact of problems that autistic youths experienced with the physical environment of the school was the only predictor variable (out of all six factors included in this study) that consistently showed a significant effect on predicting autistic youths’ school participation” The paper recognises that Autistic students process cognitive and #sensory information differently from non-autistic individuals and that this is rarely considered in the design of schools. The paper notes that an #autism unfriendly environment at school imposes barriers and contributes to various kinds of physical discomfort for autistic youths, leading to fatigue, disruptions, and reduced motivation to participate in school activities. Given the push in Australia for the #inclusion of more Autistic students in mainstream education it seems essential to make sure that 1. Autism Friendly design guidelines are included in all new schools builds (and refurbishments) and 2. All existing premises are reviewed and improved This is a huge project and it is important that needs to be done in partnership with Autistic experts and Autism Friendly guidelines. Aspect #AutismFriendly consults with schools using a comprehensive evidence based framework and working as a partnership between #Autistic and non-autistic staff