Seminars and Keynotes

Understanding the “Why”

(Foundational, eye-opening topics)

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1. When Autism Meets the Justice System: What Families and Professionals Need to Know.

A clear, compassionate overview of how autistic traits can be misunderstood as defiance, risk, or criminal intent.

 

2. Behaviour Is Communication: Reframing “Risk” in Autistic Youth.

Exploring unmet needs, sensory overload, trauma, and executive functioning as drivers of behaviour.

 

3. From Meltdown to Mugshot: How Systems Escalate Autistic Distress.

A powerful look at how everyday situations can spiral into police contact.

 

Early Intervention & Prevention

(Hope-focused, practical, action-driven)

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1. Preventing Justice Involvement Before It Starts: What Actually Works

Evidence-informed strategies families, schools, and services can implement early.

 

2. School Exclusion, Disengagement, and the Pathway to Youth Crime.

Why suspensions and exclusions disproportionately harm neurodivergent students.

 

3. Executive Functioning, Impulsivity, and the Law.

Understanding decision-making differences and how to support safer choices.

 

Policing, Courts & Systems

(Ideal for mixed professional–community audiences)

 

1.Autism in Police Encounters: De-escalation and Safety, and Human.

What parents fear, what police face, and how better outcomes are possible.

 

2. Why “He Knew Better” Is the Wrong Question

Autism, intent, capacity, and fairness in legal decision-making.

 

3. Reasonable Adjustments Don’t End at the School Gate

What justice-involved systems must do to meet their legal and ethical obligations.

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Trauma, Vulnerability & Exploitation

(Deep, reflective, and protective)

 

1. Autistic Youth as Victims First: Grooming, Coercion, and Criminalisation

How neurodivergent young people are often exploited and then punished.

 

2. Trauma on Trauma: When Justice Responses Re-Wound Autistic Youth

Examining the long-term mental health impacts of detention and court involvement.

 

Families at the Centre

(Highly engaging for parents, grounding for professionals)

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1. Parents as Advocates: Navigating Police, Courts, and Schools.

Practical guidance without blame or overwhelm.

 

2. "We Were Asking for Help”: What Families Say Before Things Go Wrong.

Lived-experience-informed insights that challenge system narratives.

 

Reform, Responsibility & Hope

(Keynote-level, future-focused)

 

1. From Punishment to Prevention: Rethinking Youth Justice for Autistic Young People

A roadmap for reform grounded in dignity, evidence, and community safety.

 

2. Justice That Understands Difference Is Safer for Everyone.

Why neuro-affirming approaches reduce harm, reoffending, and system costs.

 

3. Because Difference Should Never Be a Defence—or a Death Sentence

A bold, values-driven keynote on ethics, responsibility, and reform.

 

Core Justice Sector Training Modules

 

1. Autism, Intent, and the Law: Why “They Knew What They Were Doing” Is Often Incorrect

Understanding cognitive processing, impulse control, and stress responses in autistic youth—and how misinterpretation leads to unsafe outcomes and flawed decisions.

 

2. Behaviour ≠ Defiance: Recognising Autism in High-Stress Justice Encounters
Differentiating non-compliance, shutdown, meltdown, and fear responses from deliberate resistance.

 

3. De-Escalation That Actually Works: Neuro-Affirming Communication for Police and Custodial Settings
Concrete tools for reducing escalation, use of force, and injury during interactions with autistic individuals.

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4.Executive Functioning and Risk Behaviour: Why Autistic Youth Struggle With Compliance and Conditions
How planning, time management, and rule-tracking difficulties impact bail, probation, and orders—and what justice professionals can do differently.

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5 .Autistic Youth as Victims First: Exploitation, Grooming, and Coerced Criminality
Why autistic young people are disproportionately used by others—and then criminalised for it.

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6.Interviewing Autistic Youth: Reducing False Admissions and Unreliable Evidence
Practical guidance on communication, pacing, questioning styles, and support persons.

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7. Families, Carers, and Collateral Damage: Working With Parents Without Blame or Burnout
Why family engagement improves compliance, safety, and outcomes—and how to do it well.

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8. From Control to Capability: Reframing “Risk” Through a Neuro-Affirming Lens
How capacity-building reduces reoffending more effectively than surveillance.

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9.Custody and Detention Environments:Sensory Harm, Isolation, and Disability Rights
Practical changes that reduce incidents, self-harm, and staff injury.

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10. Intersectionality in Justice: Autism, Poverty, Culture, Gender, and Care Systems
Why neurodivergent youth from marginalised backgrounds are at highest risk—and what justice systems can change.

 

11. Because Difference Should Never Be a Defence—or a Death Sentence

Ethics, Accountability, and System Responsibility