Autism Union

A huge thank you everyone who attended the Autism Parent & Professional Resources Day 2025 today! 🤩

It started off chaotic... a venue that we couldn't use meant cancelling the event altogether... until Leonardo Hotels Sheffield stepped in and became our knights in shining armour! We cannot thank you enough for hosting our event at such last minute.

Our stallholders were fabulous in moving around, getting set up and ready to roll in our new venue - and for everyone who attended thank you so very much for your patience and understanding.

We hope you found the event useful and got to meet some new people too 💜

There's less than 1 week to go until the Autism Parent & Professional Resources Day 2025! 🥳

This Saturday (26th April) the event will showcase a range of local support services for children with SEND and their families including...

👨‍⚖️ Legal services
📚 Education and alternative education provision
💷 Payroll and Personal Assistant support
🗣️ Communication support
♾️ Actually Autistic lived experiences
🏡 Family support
‼️ Advocacy services
🎮 Gaming and activities

There will also be books, clothes and accessories on sale and Mario Kart gaming! 🤩

Come along and see what's available - buy your ticket online and save 10% off the 'on the door' price - children go FREE!

🎟 https://bit.ly/sheffieldresourceday2025

𝗖𝗼𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗲 𝗠𝗼𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗧𝗼𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗿𝗼𝘄! ☕🍪

Tomorrow is our monthly coffee morning at Hope Community Foundation - why not come along and say hello?

Always a friendly face, we can cover any topics you'd like to talk about or just general conversation with someone who understands what your life might be like.

𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝘄𝗲𝗹𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲!

Paid membership of Sparkle Sheffield is not needed to attend our coffee mornings, just come along. Feel free to bring friends or family with you - the more the merrier!

🏠 Venue: Hope Community Foundation Cafe, Bernard Road, Sheffield, S2 5BQ.
10am-12noon

🚗 There is free parking on site, as well as it being near the Hyde Park tram stop - from there it's just a short walk (305 steps to be precise! Or 3 minutes). Use the blue or yellow tram route.

𝗔𝗹𝘀𝗼 𝗮𝘃𝗮𝗶𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗮𝘁 𝗛𝗼𝗽𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗙𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻!

The Community Grocery
Step inside a grocery and you’ll find a range of food options fresh from local supermarkets, meaning our members can come and shop for their whole family at the fraction of the cost of a supermarket. Whilst also saving thousands of tonnes of food being wasted each year.

For a £5 yearly membership, you can get a weekly shop from our store, including items such as bakery, fridge, freezer, fruit, veg, shelf items, non-food items. Plus, you can get Little Extras (marked prices) for those additional treats.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗚𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗶𝘀 𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗼 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗲, 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗻𝗼 𝗷𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗿𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝗼𝗿 𝗰𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗮!

FREE GUIDE - Neurodiversity in the Workplace for Employershttps://www.adhdfoundation.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/ADHD-F-Neurodiversity-at-work-and-Training-Guide_Business.pdf

❗️Our Right to Choose Pathway is RE-OPENING on October 19th 2023. Visit the link below for more information on the medication shortages https://bit.ly/46Gs2a8

Something we were talking about at a recent training workshop here at Autism Union - there’s definitely a difference between the two!

"But aren’t we all a little bit demand avoidant?"

This is a question I’m asked occasionally when I’m speaking about or delivering training on Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA).

The answer is “Yes – we are!”

We will all naturally avoid things we find:

Boring
Frightening
Painful
Overwhelming
Uncomfortable etc

I can be very demand avoidant at times. I have ADHD, so I will procrastinate and avoid things that I don’t find stimulating such as:

Report writing
Accounting
Admin
Housework

PDAers are not avoiding demands because they are being willingly oppositional, “naughty,” defiant or difficult.

The difference is, PDAers are unable to comply with demands because they are a threat to their autonomy, and this threat causes an unavoidable and overwhelming anxiety response such as fight, flight, freeze, fawn etc.

Often demands are not refused or rejected obviously, rather they are avoided subtlety, and cleverly using distraction, excuses, delaying techniques, flattery, creativity and charm.

It’s essential to remember that it is not that the individual with PDA doesn’t WANT to comply demands, the fact is that they CAN’T comply with them, and that is a very important difference.

But, it’s not just external expectations and demands which cause anxiety and demand avoidance for an individual with PDA.

Internal expectations and demands also remove the feeling of autonomy and control that a PDAer needs.

The result? PDAers will avoid things they WANT to do, as well as things they don’t. Imagine how frustrating, upsetting and conflicting this must be for them.

This was a common theme that came across SO strongly when I interviewed the amazing PDAers for my next book.

One example that stood out so much was a lovely young person who told me that she has always wanted to play the bass guitar and was given one for her Christmas present when she was 13 years old.

She is now 18 and has still not been able to pick up and play the bass guitar, even though she still desperately wants to play it. This internal demand avoidance must cause so much frustration and further anxiety too.

When parenting or supporting an individual with PDA, we must always remember their need for autonomy and the anxiety that is caused when this is taken away, threatened to be removed, or perceived to be taken away.

PDAers will do everything that they can to protect their autonomy, which is why the traditional approaches and strategies that can work so successfully for non-PDA autistic individuals which are routed in routine, structure and predictability, do not work, and can actually be counter-productive for an individual with a PDA profile.

The image illustrated by Missing The Mark is taken from my new teens book coming out soon!

But if you can’t wait, you can still grab your copy of my book for Educators and parents here 👉 https://tinyurl.com/y2csdhv3

Come along to the Sparkle Sheffield Autism Resource Event this Saturday at the Showroom Cinema!

With an amazing line-up of stallholders, you're sure to find out so much about what is available in Sheffield and the surrounding areas.

Buy your tickets now!
🎟https://bit.ly/3Pt7tGD

💷 Adults £5 in advance | Children go FREE!

Just look at the amazing line up of stallholders we have at this event!

For the full line up, or to find out more information about the stallholders, visit our event page at https://www.facebook.com/events/1058566901804117?mibextid=s1bc9R

THIS SATURDAY!
14th October, 10am-4pm at Showroom Cinema, Sheffield!

Buy your tickets now!
🎟https://bit.ly/3Pt7tGD

💷 Adults £5 in advance | Children go FREE!