We are a group that came together on the autism related forum to form this voluntary not for profit organisation.
Maria
Chair and Managing Director, MPhil, MBA, PG Cert Autism. She has 5 years experience of developing and delivering NDSA research and lived experience informed services and in that capacity won the Innovate UK Women In Innovation Award.
I entered the autism space by advocating and dealing with my children’s diagnosis and SEN provisions at school. However soon I realised that autism, or then Asperger, was the name for what was happening to me all my life. I am an MBA qualified chemical engineer by training and worked in blue chip companies in new product development and marketing. I have 12 years’ experience of advocacy and 8 years’ experience of advising people on a popular forum for parents. Watching my girls, I know building positive autism identity is hugely important. I came across some demeaning and dehumanising conversations about autistic people and realised that equality is not a forgone conclusion. We need to work for it for us and for the sake of our children. So I joined with others to start this voluntary organisation.
Catriona
Catriona, OBE, PhD, is our newest director. Her work is focused on community engagement, participatory action research, equality, diversity and inclusion, and Human Rights. Her PhD (2011), focussed on the lived experiences of autistic girls, at a time when they were entirely absent from research and policy discussions after which she founded charity, SWAN: Scottish Women’s Autism Network, with a small group of volunteers. SWAN was, and still is, focused on building on the knowledge base, and empowering the individual through valuing lived experience expertise, sharing peer-support, and promoting a positive self-narrative.
Andy
Andy is our Finance Director and step-father to autistic children. He is embedding sound financial management processes to support the efficient delivery of services. Andrew is a Chartered Accountant and has many years of audit and project experience in primarily financial services companies as well as advising Boards and Management teams on their approach to strategy, governance and risk management. He is using his experience of strategy, governance to further develop the NDSA and provide support.
Richard
Our IT director Richard Webb is an expert by experience and a technology leader responsible for the development and implementation of technology strategy to meet current and future needs. He ensures organisations realise measurable benefits and value from IT change. He has over 20 years of experience working at IBM, Capgemini, PwC and Deloitte and providing services to FTSE100, Public Sector and not for profit organisations. Richard oversees our ICT and information security strategy and execution and manages the ICT contractors and volunteers.
Our directors and employees are autistic and multineurodivergent. Together we have experience of very broad range of issues affecting autistic people, from parenting neurodivergent children to dealing with trauma.
Our experts by experience steering group
Simon
I am an electrical engineer. I moderate a professional forum and manage my own electronics business. I hope to see a change in attitude towards “autistic” people and have a decent online platform to use. I believe we should be pushing the idea that there is a diversity in society. There is a sliding scale from NT to Autistic. The cut-off point between NT and Autistic is impossible to define, we are proof of that in trying to help those that miss out on a diagnosis. We should be pushing for an understanding that we are not all the same and there should be more tolerance in society.
Alex
Alex is an MBA qualified, international finance executive with a proven track record over the last 20+ years working across all aspects of operational finance, restructuring and transformation, P&L turnarounds as well as managing complex international controllership, audit and risk mitigation activities. During this time Alex also held several international board positions most recently in the UK as a trustee of his company’s pension plan.
Spencer
Volunteer financial auditor and advisor, chartered management accountant with 16 years’ experience in a variety of sectors. Before he was analyst at UBS, PwC and GE Capital. Currently works as a finance manager and a strategy consultant for a couple of firms
Digby
BSc Electronic, Computer and Systems Engineering with a career in Aircraft Systems and hobbies with hardware/Software on Windows/Mac machines. Diagnosed in Sept 2019 at 51 with Asperger’s. Learning lots about the journey as an adult whilst finding the gaps in the world view of Neuro-Divergent people.
Quinn
I work in the optical industry. Been doing it 30 years. I’m the big-data guy at the company I work for these days but I’ve done loads of different jobs in the business. I am also Autistamatic and rum my own autistic vlog.
Ryan
I have skills in website design, art, running a business, social media, marketing strategy. I hope the world would understand autistic people better and do things in a logical order.
Our professional advisory group
Our advisory group offers valuable expertise, advice, and guidance on our initiatives, ensuring they are effective and impactful. They provide critical feedback to refine our strategies and help us navigate complex challenges. Their support is essential in shaping the success of our programs.
Professor Nicola Martin
Head of Research, Higher Degrees and Student Experience at London South Bank University
Professor Nicola Martin is currently Interim Director of LSBU’s Research Centre for Social Justice and Global Responsibility. She has an extensive leadership background in equality in higher education and disability /autism research and is a founder member of The Participatory Autism Research Collective (PARC). Nicola leads the MA Autism /Education and EdD at LSBU as well as the Critical Autism and Disability Studies Research Group. Nicola is a member of the Westminster Autism Commission and Principal Investigator on two current research projects focusing on older autistic people’s wellbeing and access to annual health checks. She delivers research informed accredited mentor training aimed at mentoring autistic adults.
Nicola has 35 years’ experience in education working with disabled pupils and students from nursery age to adults in FE and HE and an international research profile in the field. Her research interests are informed by emancipatory principles and include: universal design for inclusive learning, multi-agency collaboration, equality and diversity, critical disability /autism studies, mentoring and understanding bereaved parents and siblings.
Nicola is also a Visiting Fellow at Cambridge and Sheffield Hallam Universities, a National Teaching Fellow and a Fellow of the RSA.
Professor (Hon.) Dr Geraldine Akerman
Consultant Forensic Psychologist, Clinical Lead for Psychological Pathway
PhD C.Psychol (Foren). HCPC Registered Psychologist EuroPsy.
I worked for the prison service since 1999 on cognitive behaviour programmes and in a democratic therapeutic community. I now work for Oxford Health NHS Trust at HMP Grendon and Springhill, Bullingdon and Huntercombe as Clinical Lead for Psychological Pathway. I am a reviewer for Forensic Update and have completed a PhD, the Development and validation of a psychometric measure of current sexual interest with the University of a Birmingham. I am also a Chartered Forensic and EuroPsych and HCPC registered Psychologist. Proud Trustee for the Safer Living Foundation and TC Specialist with the Royal College of Psychiatrists
Dr Oliver George Downing
Commissioner Specialising in Autism, Neurodivergence/Neurodiversity and Learning Disabilities (Âû).
I am an accomplished academic researcher and teacher (2013-present) with previous experience working in legal services (2007-2013) and hospitality (2005-2008).
With five years’ experience as a University Teacher in the University of Liverpool’s Department of Philosophy, I have extensive experience of designing and delivering academic curricula, and assessing student assignments across a broad range of philosophy modules, such as: business ethics; critical, analytical and creative thinking; and, logic.
My doctoral research, for instance, exploited my ability to combine creative and systematic approaches by applying theoretical concepts from one area of philosophy to solve ostensibly intractable problems in another area of philosophy to innovative effect. In my role as General Editor of the Journal of Badiou Studies; I gained experience of budgeting, client liaison, and project management whilst chairing the organising committee of two academic conferences; and, developed my auditing and consulting skills in my role as an External Review Panellist for Reaccreditation of Postgraduate Study Programmes for Croatia’s Agency for Science and Higher Education.
As a freelance neurodivergent associate, I act as an expert by experience on Creased Puddle’s neurodiversity training on an ad hoc basis. Each assignment is different, but the primary responsibilities usually include: presenting on neurodiversity, what it’s like to be neurodivergent and my personal experience as a neurodivergent person; acting as a mock candidate in a simulated job interview and provide trainees with feedback on how their performance in interviewing neurodivergent candidates; and/or, attending targeted stages of client companies’ recruitment processes (e.g., assessment events and interviews, etc.) and providing feedback.
As the Integrated Care Board’s (ICB) subject matter expert for autism and neurodiversity, my key responsibilities sat within Joined Up Care Derbyshire’s (JUCD) multi-agency strategic commissioning function for learning disabilities and autism (LD&A). Principally, as the lead commissioner for JUCD’s autism community of practice (COP), I worked with NHS and local authority commissioners, and representatives of NHS provider trusts and local voluntary, community and social enterprise sector (VCSE) to ensure strategic commissioning is as joined up, efficient and effective as possible throughout Derby and Derbyshire.
Jacqueline Moran
Independent career management consultant and cultural mediator active in the field of international employability for groups and individuals from the public, education and third sector. She has developed a particular forte in working with disadvantaged groups.
Jacky has completed her MA in Career Guidance from Canterbury Christ Church University. Her other qualifications include an MSc in Social Psychology from the London School of Economics and QCG Level 7 in Career Guidance Practice in addition to a BSc in Psychology from University of Puerto Rico.
A registered career development professional member of the Career Development Institute (CDI). Jacky is also a member of the British Psychological Society (BPS), The National Autistic Society (NAS) , Disabilities Rights UK, The Association for Child, and Adolescent Mental Health (ACAMH).
She has been a Mentor and Non managerial Supervisor for Neurodiverse Self Advocacy (NDSA) since 2021.
Further information
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jackymoran/
Alicja Nocon
Alicja (‘A-lee-tsya’) is a late-diagnosed autistic coach and mentor. Having gone through her own journey of self-discovery and self-acceptance after receiving her autism diagnosis in 2020 when she was in her 30s, she now helps other late diagnosed / self-identified neurodivergent professionals make sense of who they are and how they want to be, so they can thrive and not just survive. Alicja’s previous background is in the financial services sector, where she worked for 10 years for several organisations.
Alicja’s professional qualifications include an accreditation with the European Mentoring and Coaching Council at the Senior Practitioner level and a Master’s degree in Applied Positive Psychology and Coaching Psychology from the University of East London (Distinction). She is currently working towards a Professional Certificate of Advanced Study in Coaching Supervision at Oxford Brookes University.
Alicja is an active member of the autistic community. She regularly participates at Autscape, the autistic conference, and shares her reflections in her blog. Alicja’s research on character strengths of autistic adults in the UK has been published in a peer-reviewed academic journal.