Members’ Area
Events
Members’ Meetings
Scheduled three times a year.
Open to CEOs and an additional senior member of their staff.
With networking for our members along with expert speakers on a range of topics relevant to your work.
Recent speakers at our events have included:
Professor Jonathan Green, Professor of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at the University of Manchester, Simon Bottery, Senior Fellow, Social Care, The King’s Fund, Baroness Browning from the House of Lords Special Inquiry on the Autism Act 2009, Professor Karen Guldberg of the University of Birmingham, Professor Martin Knapp of the London School of Economics, and more.
Locations alternating between London and accessible locations outside London.
If you’re a senior staff member and interested in attending then please speak to your CEO.
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11am - 4pm
Friends House, 173-177 Euston Rd, London NW1 2BJ
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11am - 4pm
Holiday Inn, 25 Aytoun St, Manchester M1 3DT
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11am - 4pm
Friends House, 173-177 Euston Rd, London NW1 2BJ
Summer Members’ Meeting - Wednesday 1 July, 2026
11am - 4pm, Holiday Inn, Manchester City Centre, M1 3DT
The agenda will be circulated via email.
Speaker Series
These are online meetings five times a year where we invite a guest speaker to talk to staff of our member organisations about a subject of interest.
Each of our member organisations can invite their staff to join these calls. Attendees usually vary depending on the topic. CEOs will have been sent a calendar invitation, which they can forward on to their staff.
Previous speakers have included Julian Blake, national expert on procurement law, Dr Conor Davidson, Clinical Lead of the Leeds Autism Diagnostic Service, PDA Society Chair, Ed Archer, Tania Tirraoro, Founder of Special Needs Jungle, Dr Louise Morpeth, CEO of Brain in Hand, Michael Brownlee from Anthony Collins LLP and Dr James Cusack, CEO of Autistica.
See below the 2026 speakers - with more to follow.
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Charlie Hart
Tuesday 17th February
1pm-2pm
Via Teams
With Charlie Hart, autistic advocate and speaker. Charlie is a professional speaker with over 20 years’ HR analytics experience. Charlie is neurodivergent - autistic and ADHD.
Combining lived experience with professional credibility in HR and inclusion, Charlie will talk to us about inclusivity in the workplace - sharing her own experiences and discussing how to make your workplace more neuroinclusive. Her talk will be impactful and thought-provoking with practical takeaways too.
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Alexis Quinn
Wednesday 6 May 2026
11am - 12pm
Via Teams
With Alexis Quinn, qualified counsellor, psychotherapist and autism and human rights campaigner. She also manages the Restraint Reduction Network.
Alexis will speak about her work as an advocate for autistic people, her role within the Restraint Reduction Network and her latest research.
Topic Calls and Legal Workshops
The Autism Alliance runs a series of Topic Calls throughout the year. These are information sessions, either with a guest speaker or with professionals from across the Alliance. Previously we have run sessions on setting up podcasts, and neuroinclusion in the workplace - the topic can be requested by our members.
We also run Legal Workshops, in partnership with various legal firms, which are open to our members, their staff, and the people and families they support. Previously we have run sessions on the Mental Capacity Act, the Care Act and EHCPs.
See below for upcoming events:
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Assistive Technologies Information Call
Thursday 11 June 2026
1.30pm-2.30pm
Via Teams
With Amy Lewis, Managing Director of Just Checking.
In this session, Amy shares her experiences of how life-changing it can be to give people space when they want it - whilst still being there to support when needed. Through her role as Managing Director at Just Checking, a specialist sensor technology company for adult social care - she has seen in practice what it means to the autistic people they support to have more control over your home space as well as the practical steps we can take to reduce restrictions in often very high risk situations. This will be a thought-provoking session, which will challenge us to rethink risk, choice and autonomy in the digital age.
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Legal Workshop: SEND - The Law Hasn't Changed (Yet)
Tuesday 16 June 2026
12pm - 2pm
Via Zoom
With Polly Sweeney, Partner at Rook Irwin Sweeney and highly experienced in all areas of education law including appeals to the Special Educational Needs and Disability Tribunal regarding EHC Plans and school placements, disability discrimination claims, and judicial reviews on a wide range of issues.
Whilst the SEND community is currently focused on responding to the government’s consultation on its proposals for SEND reform, this legal workshop will provide a timely reminder of the existing SEND legal rights and duties that are currently in force, what changes are being proposed and how this might impact on current legal protections, and timescales for when any changes would happen.