A Day with Peter Vermeulen
L-R: Charlene Tait, Director of Development Scottish Autism, Peter Vermeulen and Alan Somerville, CEO Scottish Autism*
Peter spent the day engaging delegates in a journey through the mind of an individual with autism and how this impacts on their ability to maintain relationships. He explained that for individuals with autism, engaging in relationships, particularly those of an intimate nature, is a tough challenge and many of the relational skills and knowledge that neurotypical people seem to develop effortlessly are clogged by the way an autistic brain understands the world.
Most people with high-functioning autism or Asperger’s Syndrome have a desire to relate to other people and many of them want to have friends or an intimate relationship. Unfortunately, for them, the road from desire to successful relationships is often strewn with obstacles. Peter’s seminar opened the eyes of the audience to how we can support individuals with autism to develop and maintain lasting relationships throughout their life journey.
Peter also shared knowledge on how we can teach social and relational competence and how we can help people with autism to understand the complexities of relationships. The importance of context to the way an individual with autism thinks was a key learning from the day.
We were thrilled to hear that the majority of the day’s delegates really enjoyed the event. A parent commented, “So inspirational. It’s given a new way of thinking that we will take on board in professional practice and in home life. I’m feeling so motivated as a result of the conference.” While a professional said, “I have worked with children who have autism since 2006 but have always felt the ‘traditional’ approach wasn’t just quite right in my head. Today answered a lot of questions for me and for the first time my instincts fell into place.”
Peter is Co-Director of Autisme Centraal in Belgium and has written more than 15 books and several articles on autism including:
- "This is the title: on autistic thinking” (2001)
- “I am Special: handbook for psycho-education” (2000, revised edition 2013)
- “Autism as context blindness” (2012), a book than won several awards in the USA.
Find out more about our Knowledge Share Events
*Photo by Tina Norris Photography
