INTRODUCTION | INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE 2023
Middletown Centre for Autism will present its fifth international conference in-person and online at ICC Belfast on Friday 19th and Saturday 20th May 2023.
Venue: ICC Belfast, 2 Lanyon Place, Belfast BT1 3WH
The conference will bring together the following expert speakers (for full biographies, click here):
Professor Sue Fletcher-Watson
A Senior Lecturer at the Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Sue's research projects focus on applying methods from psychology to questions with clinical, educational, and societal impact.
Jacquelyn Fede, PhD and Amy Laurent, PhD
Jac is a super fun, super goofy and SUPER DUPER nerdy Autistic Advocate and the co-founder of Autism Level UP! Jac is a physical activity junky and continues to meet its intense sensory needs by seeking high impact and highly resistant movements.
Amy is an Occupational Therapist, co-author of the SCERTS model (a developmental framework for supporting Autistic people), and the co-founder of Autism Level UP!
Peter Vermeulen, PhD
Peter has a PhD in Psychology and Clinical Educational Sciences, and more than 35 years of experience in the field of autism. Founder of “Autism in Context”, where autism is understood in context. Peter is an internationally respected lecturer/trainer and he presents all over the world.
Dr Alyssa M. Alcorn
Alyssa is the Research and Impact Lead for the Learning About Neurodiversity at School (LEANS) project, based at the University of Edinburgh's Salvesen Mindroom Research Centre. She is an interdisciplinary researcher with extensive experience on participatory projects, and a background in psychology, education, human-computer interaction, and design.
Dr Carly Jones MBE
Dr Carly Jones MBE is an autistic woman and campaigner for the rights of autistic women and girls.
Dr Helen Lynch
Helen is Senior Lecturer in the Department of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy, University College Cork, Ireland, and co-convenor of the Children and Young Peoples Research Cluster of the UCC Institute for Social Sciences in the Twenty First Century.
Dr Rachel Ferguson
A Researcher at Middletown Centre for Autism, Rachel’s most recent research has been presented at conferences such as the International Society for Autism Research and the Geneva Centre for Autism.
Cat Hughes, PhD
Cat is a Research Officer at Middletown Centre for Autism. She previously worked as Research Communications Manager with UK autism research charity, Autistica where she supported researchers and community members to communicate about research and lived experience.
Middletown Centre for Autism was established in 2007 by the Department of Education, Northern Ireland and the Department of Education, Ireland. The aim of the Centre is to promote best practice in the education of children and young people with autism throughout Ireland and Northern Ireland. The Centre provides training, research, learning support and assessment and advice to parents, family members and educational professionals.
