Stress, Autism, and Child Development

We all talk about stress – but what is it?

Put simply - stress is mental and emotional strain resulting from demands which we cannot cope with. Work-related stress, depression and anxiety is the largest cause of work-related illness in the UK. The personal cost cannot be measured.

The body’s response to stress – the adrenaline rush - is a survival mechanism as old as mankind and we cannot control it. However, the rate of social change in human society has outstripped our evolutionary capability to adapt to these changes and most threats we commonly encounter do not require an immediate response. If unrelieved over time, stress can lead to chronic mental and physical illness.

We will explore the causes and consequences of stress, drawing on real world examples. Better understanding will help you to stay well and cope with life.

About the speaker:
I am a former London policeman and now a senior lecturer in the Faculty of Technology at the University of Portsmouth. My specialism is occupational health and safety management. I also have an academic background in sport and exercise science.

In this talk, I would like to discuss what we can do as a society to create more inclusive, supportive environments for autistic people. Traditional research has put the burden on the autistic person in terms of what is wrong with them and what they can do to change that. What about the role of society, on a micro and macro level, in the experiences of autistic people and what needs to change in society to improve quality of life for autistic people? I will give examples from our projects with community members about support in education and employment for autistic people.

Each child develops differently and this is influenced both by factors within them, characteristics they are born with, but also by the way our world works. Yet one important question is whether our society and education system are capable of supporting all children equally. In this talk I would like to discuss some ongoing research which tries to understand what the strengths and needs of different children are and how we can support families and children do well in school and flourish.