5th Autism & Systemic Practice Conference
Thu, 10 Jul 2025 08:15:00 GMT → Fri, 11 Jul 2025 16:00:00 GMT (d=1 days, 7 hours, 45 minutes, 0 seconds)
5th Autism and Systemic Practice Conference
Multi-Spectra Living and Intersectionality
Thursday 10th and Friday 11th July 2025 - ONLINE
9.15 start. Link activated at 9am.
WATCH THIS SPACE
PROGRAMME WILL BE ANNOUNCED IN AUTUMN 2024.
PROGRAMME
Day 1
Thursday 10th July
Day 2
Friday 11th July
What impacts could come out of the conference?
- Ideas for neuro-inclusive services and practice
- Re-design of therapeutic delivery
- Re-thinking what training means in the context of neuro-inclusivity
- New theory-practice relationships
- Getting beyond the colonial practice of pathologising
- A manifesto or campaign for change in therapeutic service delivery
What structure will the event take?
- There will be presentations in the large group followed by discussions in small break out rooms.
- The breaks are hosted by members of the organising group.
- You can have your camera on or off to suit you at any point.
- You can join in the talk or not as you wish.
- You can post any questions for in the "Chat" at times.
- T here will be a Jam Board for you to post ideas, repsonses throughout the event.
Some philosophy for this event
The Autism and Systemic Practice movement encourages that
i) Autistic people and their families should not be defined by pathologising or restrictive gendered, racial, heteronormative and biomedical narratives which have the power to name and separate people into single hierarchical normalcies.
ii) Holistic views of the diversity between autistic people need hearing through their stories so people's identities, lifestyle and relationship choices are described by them and not only filtered through professional narratives about them.
iii) First person narratives need foregrounding so that autistic people's unique and varied experiences are heard and validated.
iv) New ways of seeing, talking and being in professional contexts are needed to honour neuro-inclusivity and intersectionality in order to enhance the lives of autistic people, their families and their networks.
v) Critical evaluation of the way in which identity is constructed within health and social care. How come some identities are foregrounded over others? Why is there a hierarchy of single identities? Who decides what services are useful and why?
Some context
Therapeutic theory about autism was in the main created by non-autistic people but has influenced what support is offered. Most services have been designed by non-autistic people. Furthermore, therapists train in programmes with extremely limited attention to autism let alone neurodiversity. In traditional professional narratives, autism is often understood as a disability, a deficit or disorder within a person. The autistic person is not always seen as able, contributing and living an intersectional life with many parts to themselves.
At this conference, this online event, we will hear some examples of how services have developed that draw on the experience, expertise and leadership of autistic people. And we will re-imagine theory and practice to inform future service design.
We will have time to listen and talk in small groups to discuss:
- What theories do therapists need to work with autistic people - when autistic people can be so different from each other?
- Which systemic ideas about context and identity could be useful?
- How should and could autistic people influence training programmes and service design?
Who is the conference for?
- Therapists (this includes Counsellors, Psychotherapists, Systemic Practitioners, Psychologists, Social Workers, Mental Health Workers, Carers, Psychiatrists)
- Policy makers and M anagers
- Autistic people, neurodivergent families and networks
Who is organising this conference?
We are a group of diverse systemic therapists who have been part of an autism and systemic practice and research hub which started in 2014. We have hosted this international conference biannually since then. You can find the history of this conference and other resources at www.systemicautism.com
DURING THE CONFERENCE
Post your questions for presenters or organisers in the "Chat" .
Post your ideas and responses on the Jam Boards throughout.
AFTER THE EVENT
Most presentations will be on the Systemic Autism YouTube Channel by end of July. https://www.youtube.com/@systemicpractice
Check the Systemic Autism website for slides, links, and other information coming out the conference. https://systemicautism.com
Some Watching and Reading...
Look at some presentations from the last Autism and Systemic Practice Conference on Autism and Intersectionality at https://systemicautism.com and on the Systemic Autism YouTube Channel.
Read some brilliant papers in a Special Issue on Autism and Intersectionality on Murmurations: Journal of Transformative Systemic Practice here: https://murmurations.cloud
Booking
There are three tickets. Note this is for July 2025.
Professionals - £90.
Therapy trainees - donation (recommended £45).
Neurodiverse people, their friends and family: 100 free places by entering the promo code autism123
The URL for booking for 2025 is https://5systemicautism.eventbrite.co.uk
About Everything is Connected Press
is a Community Interest Company offering
- Murmurations: Journal of Transformative Systemic Practice - murmurations.cloud - a fully free open access peer reviewed journal
- Writing workshops and retreats
- Publishing systemic textbooks
- Decolonising systemic practice and research workshops and residentials
- Systemic Practice Research Programme
- Autism and Systemic Practice Conference systemicautism.com
You can jump to Everything is Connected Press website at eicpress.com
