ABOVE Photograph of Robyn receiving an award.
Recongnition
Having now worked in Autism for half my life, I have been privileged to do some things that have made a meaningful difference to other people and I have been kindly nominated and recognised in some awards so this page aims to tell you a bit about those things.
For 10 years I have volunteered with the NAS (National Autistic Society) as a media talker/ambassador. When a media enquiry comes into the press office at the NAS they need a pool of people they can call to go on TV. Many Autistic people particularly find live TV (as its so short notice and can be changed and not scripted at any time) difficult, so when they need someone who can handle that they give me a call, I’m also used when journalists want someone like me i.e. woman in her 30’s, single, self employed, diagnosed in childhood - it can be that specific, In addition to this I have been co-author on a number of academic papers. The ones I lead on all stem from needs within the community. I’m also in a number of books including Autism West Midlands ‘Ultra Violet Voices’, a EU funded project ‘Autism in Pink’ and interviewed in ‘Auto Power’. My second book ‘The Autism Friendly Guide to Periods’ came out in 2019. I have a reputation for taking on topics in an accessible way. In 2017 I was nominated and then in 20178 nominated and added to the Shaw Trust’s Power 100 list of most influential disabled people for my work in media and publishing.
Age 20 I was raped. This is sadly a common occurrence in the Autism community (however it doesn't have to and shouldn’t be). Through this experience I came into contact with other Autistic people who had had similar experiences to me. I did not want to preach at them, and instead chose to try and understand where the differences in terms of venerability were between Autistic and Non Autistic women. As part of my work with CRAE and UCL I did a online survey on 100 Autistic women and 100 Non Autistic women. I asked them questions about their experiences in areas of life like friendship. I found what is now being published in research papers that a lot of Autistic people have been sexually abused, manipulated and harmed by others. Having had a number of years as a mentor in a wide range of settings I had some strategies that had helped me and other people, and I built up a group of professionals (so I could check none of my ideas seemed unrealistic) and wrote a book aiming to give as much explanation as I could. (If I didn’t understand something, I checked with Non Autistic people who had better social skills than me), and that is how my first book came out, ‘The Independent Woman’s Handbook for Super Safe Living on the Autistic Spectrum”. In 2015, I was nominated and was joint awardee of the NAS Professional Award for Outstanding Achievement by an Individual on the Autism Spectrum, for my work in raising awareness around sexually abuse against autistic people.