Autism Trainers
Martijn Dekker
Martijn (rhymes with 'design') is an autistic father of three who divides his life between the Netherlands and the UK. Diagnosed with autism in 1995 at the age of 21 after two decades of being different without knowing why, he ran an international support network for autistic people called InLv which was cited in "Neurotribes" by Stephen Silberman (2016) as "another nutrient-rich tide pool that accelerated the evolution of Autistic culture". Martijn is also a co-author of an important article on the implications of the neurodiversity movement for early intervention research in autism and contributed a chapter about InLV to Steven Kapp's 2019 book Autistic Community and the Neurodiversity Movement.
In the 1990s and 2000s he was a regular on the autism conference speaking circuit. Between 2006 and the present he has served on the board and organising committee of Autscape, the UK conference run for and by autistic people, in various capacities, including chair, programme coordinator and technical manager. He is currently on the board of the European Council of Autistic People. Two decades of experience working with, living with and loving fellow autistic people have given him knowledge and experience of autism that is both passionate and nuanced.
Testimonials
“Martijn was brilliant. He delivered the course in a great way and it was really interesting and informative. Thank you”
“Martijn is very knowledgeable and confident in delivering and made the full day session interactive and interesting.”
“I found it useful how Martijn used lots of examples and personal experiences.”
“Martijn was so informative with lots of information. I really enjoyed it. It has made me much more aware of autism and how to communicate better”
“Brilliant course. Easily understood. Martijn was full of information to give us. And he put it across really well. Thank you”
Nat Titman
Nat had a first career in IT as a Web Production Manager. Alongside that, they have been involved for many years in neurodiverse, nonbinary and trans communities, helping to organise events, build communities and contributing in a range of voluntary capacities. As a result, they have worked with a wide range of autistic and non-autistic people, developing a broad background knowledge of autism beyond that provided by their own experience.
They have presented on autism, neurodivergence, asexuality, trans issues, nonbinary gender and various other topics at conferences including Autscape, WorldPride Asexual Conference 2012 and UK BiCon.
Their interests include art and music and they have substantial experience as a performer in that context. As a former co-host of the Autistic Flappy Hour podcast, as well as a sporadic blogger on practical androgyny and neurodiversity, Nat has a range of experience in communicating effectively to diverse audiences. Nat is multiply neurodivergent with hidden disabilities.
In their local area, Nat was involved with the Nottinghamshire Health Care Trust Asperger Syndrome Community of Interest Group, and the consultations on and the launch of the Nottingham City Council autism strategy in 2014. They have direct experience of the social care system and are supported by PAs.
Testimonials
“Nat is a fantastic, informative trainer and I thoroughly enjoyed this session”
“Really excellent delivery. Nat you helped with your lived experience to bring an extremely helpful perspective. Thank you”
“The structure to the training was good, and the trainer (Nat) was excellent. Lots of examples used.”
“Nat's breakdown of the [sensory] video [was especially helpful] as I didn't notice the combination of events at the beginning. I also liked how Nat drew on personal experience and made [them]self vulnerable sharing [their] experience to further my learning and understanding of what living with autism feels like and the different ways in which it presents.”
“Nat really helped to ensure we all understood each point throughout the course. It was very informative”
Social Work with Autistic People book
My book, published by Jessica Kingsley Publishers, helps social workers and adult social care practitioners to find achievable solutions to support autistic people - including those with complex needs - to live fulfilling lives in their communities.
Speaking, Writing & Consultancy
Read more about my conference presentations, published articles and consultancy work, including lists of past presentations and conference appearances, and past publications and papers.