Making Space for Autism. This item is unavailable.Making Space for Autism

For anyone who wants to make space for autism, this book is nothing less than Aladdin’s cave. Full of treasures. Peter Vermeulen, Autism in Context

This accessible, strengths-focused approach to supporting autistic people across different areas of their life reflects a paradigm shift from one where autism is treated as a deficit or impairment to one of positivity, acceptance and autonomy.

Historically, there has been an expectation that autistic children and adults should conform their behaviour to social norms, with strategies and interventions centred around navigating spaces and situations with minimal damage. This person-centred environmental assessment and modification programme moves away from this, instead providing information and tools for assessing and reflecting on features of the autistic person's environment to best support their comfort, autonomy and agency.

Written as a collaboration between autistic and non-autistic professionals, the authors break down each environmental element (physical, sensory, emotional, communicative and social) by chapter. They also include checklists as reference points, equipping the reader with a framework from which to begin.

SHARON MCCARTHY is an author, course coordinator and lecturer. She delivers autism-specific training in different disability and education settings across Ireland, and in her role as a professional advocate, she ensures the autistic person’s ‘voice’ is always kept central. Sharon is parent to multiply-identified autistic children and acquired her own autism diagnosis in 2020, with an ADHD diagnosis following in 2022.

MICAELA CONNOLLY is a Senior Educational and Child Psychologist with 15 years’ experience of working on a multidisciplinary team in a specialist autism service. Her work involves assessment; therapeutic interventions; training; developing and implementing programmes to advance understanding and awareness of autism.

CAOLÁN MCCARTHY is an autistic Speech and Language Therapist. He has spoken at the IASLT Autism and Neurodiversity Special Interest Group annual conference and made contributions to the New National Training Programme for Special Educational Needs Assistants with University College Dublin and National Council for Special Education.