Dave Hewett

Dave Hewett: "I’ve been working with people who have special needs since 1976. Quite early on I realised that I loved working with people who have the most severe learning difficulties, autism and challenging behaviour. This therefore has been my specialism always. During the nineteen-eighties, I was the Principal, Harperbury Hospital School in Hertfordshire and therefore leading the team that instigated and developed the Intensive Interaction approach, starting slowly in 1981-82 and gathering pace through the next eight to ten years. In 1987 we started to write the first publications, carry out the first research and begin the dissemination through conferences and seminars. I have been continuously writing about my work ever since.

I left my Headteacher post in 1990 and have since been dedicated to the dissemination of Intensive Interaction in all services nationwide, through continuously speaking at conferences, giving seminars, publishing books, articles and training materials, as well as gradually gathering a dedicated band of colleagues who now make up an official organisation, the Intensive Interaction Institute. I also write and give training and consultancy widely on challenging behaviour issues, though I see no real boundary between the two themes of communication and challenging behaviour.

My work these days takes me around the world to countries such as Australia, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Germany, Hungary, New Zealand, Portugal, Russia, Sri Lanka – the international interest is often developing more quickly than our organisation can easily deal with. However, this is a very positive problem.

Obviously, I am now getting on a bit and I have associates in the Intensive Interaction Institute who are expertly carrying on and further developing our essential work".