Wendy

My name is Wendy and I am a Autism Specialist Advisor.  I work in Shrewsbury and work alongside families, children and young people in Shropshire to help them understand more about autism and how it affects them and their family. My main responsibilities include helping to prepare and deliver training to parents and professionals; running advice sessions and running coffee mornings. I also plan and run (with a colleague) the Teens Summer Programme, which consists of workshops around autism e.g. autism and me, self-esteem, anxiety and anger as well as fun activities e.g. tie dying, bowling, trampolining and making pizza.

I support autistic people by empowering parents, helping them develop a better understanding of autism and the strategies that they and their children can use. I chose to work at Autism West Midlands to make a positive difference to the lives of people on the spectrum and their families.

A typical office day is: Switch my computer on. Make a drink for myself and anybody else in the office. Have a chat (something I had to learn to do when I started as I am autistic). I will check and respond to any emails and hold advice sessions. Some days I may need to research and refresh or write some training materials. I may also photocopy handouts if we are running training sessions in the week. Other days I will be out somewhere in Shropshire running coffee mornings, training sessions or other activities.

One of the best things about working for Autism West Midlands is that it is a caring and compassionate organisation. We listen to each other, support each other, help each other and learn from each other.

I have been able to develop my career whilst working at Autism West Midlands and gained lots of training around safeguarding, first aid, child protection, food hygiene and autism.

The team members at Autism West Midlands are approachable and supportive. We share our resources and ideas with our colleagues in Shropshire and Birmingham. The environment is supportive and friendly.