With over 150 parents, carers and practitioners from a variety of organisations there were plenty of anecdotes and expertise to share.
The theme this year was ‘Behaviour’, delving into the links between behaviour and communication. Delegates enjoyed a packed timetable of inspirational talks based on lived experience, interactive workshops and keynote speakers.
The day started on a high with Britain’s Got Talent finalist, Alex Mitchell, regaling us with his “funny and fearless” humour and his unashamed take on life as a disabled, neurodivergent, gay man.
Next up, our product demonstrators, Smart Box, Tobii Dynavox, Jabbla, TTS and Widgit shared some of their products, explaining how they can be used to support and improve effective communication.
“I found lots of practical resources and strategies that I can use on my work”.
Charmaine Champ from Clear Steps Consultancy led us to the tea break with her insightful talk about how problems with toileting and sleep can affect behaviour.
“I had never thought about the importance of relating gut health with communication! It was good to break down the stigma of talking about poo!”
The tea break gave delegates the opportunity to visit the marketplace, talk to the product demonstrators and share their own personal stories.
Then, our regular contributor, Andrew Whitehouse, took centre stage to talk about how colours can affect behaviour. He described how certain colours and patterns can be distracting and cause anxiety in some people, reminding us that visuals are not always pictures. He also talked about the significance of emojis.
Andrew then facilitated a conversation with Donna Raistrick, who joined us via live link. Donna shared her experience of neurodivergence, telling us how she had found happiness in her diagnosis.
Donna was followed by Genevieve, making a return visit to share her experiences of navigating life with ADHD.
“Hearing about people’s lived experience is so powerful!”
During the lunch break the GERT suit allowed delegates to experience some of the difficulties that come with old age. Andrew Whitehouse also led a session on autism and Essex County Council’s Technology Enabled Care team demonstrated some Care Technology products and how they are used in real world scenarios.
After lunch, Essex County Council’s Behaviour Advisory Team talked about positive behaviour support, starting off by asking us to identify some undesirable behaviours and how many of those we are guilty of ourselves – leading into a discussion around what behaviour is trying to communicate.
HPFT’s Speech and Language Therapy team then introduced us to objects of reference and how they can be used to support communication. They passed around a number of objects, leading to an amusing discussion about the appropriateness of some of the items and what idea they could support. They ended, challenging us to think about what 3 objects would be most important to us.
To round the day off, Debby Auvache gave a powerful demonstration of how Makaton can be used to support effective communication, simply by making us speak slower as we sign. She reminded us of the importance of being consistent in our signs. What a way to finish, singing and signing “Walking on Sunshine”!
“What an amazing day! I learnt so much! Thank you so much!”
We’re already thinking about Sharing Day 2026, will you be joining us?
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