AVATAR Launch Extravaganza : Professional Learning Event

Come join us at Cafe ReCharge CIC for an unforgettable afternoon celebrating the launch of AVATAR by learning more about autistic people from renowned autistic speakers!

Who should come?

This event is aimed primarily at professionals who work with autistic people but anyone with an interest in improving autistic people's lives is welcome to join.

Featuring: Fergus Murray, Kieran Rose and an autistic Q&A panel

Fergus Murray (They/them) - Fergus is an autistic science teacher, writer and community organiser–a co-founder, and the current chair, of AMASE (Autistic Mutual Aid Society Edinburgh). Fergus’s mother, Dinah Murray, was a pioneering autistic researcher and activist as well as co-creator of the theory of Monotropism. Fergus has authored the website monotropism.org and is the founder of weirdpride.day.

Fergus will be speaking on Autistic Theories of Autism - Recent developments in how autistic differences can be understood through a neurodiversity affirming lens.

Autism has historically been described from the outside - by scientists and clinicians with no personal experience of it. Since the 1990s, that has been changing, as autistic people have started organising and finding ways to be listened to. This ongoing shift is transforming the ways that people think about autism - away from seeing it purely in terms of deficits, and towards understanding it as a healthy part of the diversity of humankind.

One part of this shift is the theory of Monotropism, which suggests that autism can be understood as a different way of using attention and processing the sensory world. Developed more than thirty years ago by independent autistic researchers including the speaker's mother, Dr. Dinah Murray, Monotropism provides deep insights into autistic experience, and suggests practical ways of promoting autistic thriving.

Below is a photo of Fergus:

Kieran Rose (He/Him) - Kieran is an internationally recognised Autistic author, academic researcher, and consultant with a background in SEND education and public service delivery for Autistic adults. Diagnosed as Autistic in 2003 and the parent of three Autistic children with varying support needs, Kieran draws on personal and professional experience to challenge stigma, deconstruct traditional autism narratives, critically reflect, and reframe understanding through an intersectional lens.

Kieran delivers specialist training and consultancy globally, working with professionals, organisations, and institutions to foster reflective practice, challenge ideologies, and promote affirming approaches to Autistic experiences and Neurodivergence. He guest-lectures at universities across the UK and is a regular guest lecturer on 5 teaching streams at the Anna Freud Centre. He also supervises mental health specialists and education professionals, supporting the development of inclusive, compassionate practices. Kieran is a faculty member and consultant for the STAR Institute, a leading US-based organisation in Occupational Therapy practice and research. Kieran’s academic research focuses on Autistic Masking, victimisation, stigma, intimate partner violence, and lifeworld approaches to care, with ongoing projects exploring Monotropism, Autistic identity, suicidality, and experiences of therapy. He is an Honorary Research Associate at the University of Sunderland, an external collaborator at UCL and Durham University, and a peer reviewer for leading autism journals.

Among having published various chapters, along with leading autism researcher, Assistant Professor of Developmental Psychology Dr Amy Pearson of Durham University, Kieran has co-authored, the highly acclaimed book ‘Autistic Masking: Understanding Identity Management and the Role of Stigma’, a groundbreaking academic touchstone exploring identity development for Autistic people, what masking means and what it happens in response to, and what that can mean for professional practice.
Kieran will be speaking on: A Shift in Focus: Applying Contemporary Autism Theory in Practice

This talk will introduce practical approaches for professionals to implement contemporary understandings of autism in everyday practice. With an emphasis on reflective practice, it will explore how to shift away from outdated models, improve interactions with Autistic people and enhance and adapt the accessibility and effectiveness of professional services.

Below is a photo of Kieran

The AVATAR Team, joined by guest speakers Fergus and Kieran, will hold an Autistic Q&A panel. This is your chance to engage with a diverse panel of autistic individuals and ask any questions you may have. While panelists have the discretion to choose which questions to answer, they are likely to offer valuable insights. Please note that we cannot offer advice about individual situations; we can only share information based on our own experiences and knowledge of the wider autistic community.

Food and drink

Tea and coffee will be available throughout the event with dairy and dairy alternative milks available.

Cake will be served during the break. All cakes will be vegan and gluten free. Please let us know if you have any other dietary requirements.

Accessibility

Please note that while this event is aimed at professionals, all speakers and organisers are autistic and we anticipate that a number of attendees will also be autistic. Therefore, to be as accessible as possible, everyone is welcome to be their authentic selves. That might mean some people move around, stim, eat, drink, fidget, look at their phones, go to the toilet, go outside for a break and come back again during the presentations.

Please note, instead of traditional applause we will be using silent applause.

The first floor of the building can be accessed for wheelchair users through the side door and round the back corridor. This is all on the flat and takes you into the main floor of the cafe where there are 2x large tables for seating. The rest of the cafe areas are on different levels accessed by 3+ stairs (depending on which level).

Below is a photo of the main entrance to the building.

There is a balcony at the back of the café with a herb garden and nature views.

Please tell us if there is anything we can do to make the sensory environment as accessible as possible - for example, if it is too bright we might be able to close some blinds.

Getting here

The event will take place at Cafe Recharge CIC, 58 Island Street, Galashiels, TD1 1NU.

Below is an image of the front of the café

By train: The café is 8 minutes walk from Galashiels train station

By car: The café is 5-10 minutes walk from a number of car parks.

Parking is available across the road (quite busy road) or along the road at TK Maxx (not far and not across a road).

Host or Publisher AVATAR