Mindfulness for Autism

Mindfulness for Autism is a strengths-focused mindfulness approach that provides recovery and counteracts the negative sensory impact of the world for autistic adults and their carers. It also aims to reduce the impact of stress, isolation and fragmentation in autistic people and family members/carers of autistic people and aims to break this negative cycle, helping people to live a more self-aware, empowered and fulfilling life.

The group will take place every Tuesday morning from 19th July until 20th September (excluding 23rd August). Each session will run via Zoom and are free to join.

Programme Content

There are 9, 1 hour weekly online Zoom sessions. Each session includes a presentation and a guided meditation on a theme and a facilitated Q&A / group dialogue.

Topics include:

• Mindful communication
• Sensory sensitivities
• Mindfulness and emotions
• Mindful relationships
• Self-care and compassion
• Masking and the authentic self

The facilitated group dialogue part of each session is important because thinking, experiences and stories are shared, in order to create a cohesive community of mindfulness friends. As experienced facilitators, we intuitively address the needs of participants in a semi-structured way, making our events a constructive setting for autistic people who normally find gatherings problematic.

Facilitators

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Jonathan Drury is an experienced meditator and has practised many methods of meditation and holistic health from an early age, personally experiencing the benefits and mitigation of the negative impacts of Asperger’s and ADHD, specifically upon mental health and depression. He is a MBLE (Mindfulness Based Life Enhancement) and MBSR (Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction) practitioner, a certified coach and specialist mentor, working in the field of autism and neurodiversity. Jonathan is supported by

Kate Salinsky, (MA Autism) who is an experienced and qualified specialist teacher and mentor with a 25-year demonstrated history of working in Sheffield, education, health and social care organisations.