Communication 4 ALL Executive Director Elizabeth Bonker answering questions after her presentation at the @autismeurope.bsky.social International Congress in Dublin. The auditorium was packed with researchers, teachers, therapists, parents, and allies. #aecongress2025
Thank you to #AECongress2025 for the chance to present our (w @drrachaeldavis.bsky.social) work on the #Autism & #Bilingualism Hub autism-bilingualism.com
TY to all who came to chat after the talk,
& those who came by our #gender/ #masking/ #mentalhealth poster!
(spot the subtle 🍉🇵🇸 support)
Picture of the Royal Dublin Society building, location of the Autism Europe 2025 Congress
What an incredible (and full-on) three days at #AECongress2025!
On Day 3, I shared insights from my PhD research on compensation and psychological strengths, highlighting the ways strengths may be used by autistic adults to compensate.
My presentation is available here: bit.ly/3IlvHD2
#AEC2025
Asistimos a #AECongress2025 Un encuentro donde personas autistas, familias y profesionales compartimos experiencias, aprendizajes y futuro
Nos llevamos motivación, ilusión y la certeza de que el camino se construye en comunidad
¡Nos vemos en Bilbao!
@autismeurope.bsky.social
#Autism #Ireland
Aimee and her friend Elena sit at a table with afternoon tea cakes on the table. We smile big smiles, reunited after a year apart, and delighted to be in our favourite window seat.
Aimee and the incredible TC Waisman smile big smiles in a photo together in the main hall at Autism Europe. TC wears a floral jacket, blue jeans, white rimmed glasses and brogue heels. Aimee wears a denim jacket, coral dress with love hearts and her 'conference shoes' (black doc marten Mary jane shoes with black bows).
Aimee presenting her research using slides to a very full (overflowing!) Room of people. People are taking pictures of Aimee's slides and sitting on the floor and standing to the side of seats.
A group of happy people who had attended day 1 of Autism Europe are smiling in a traditional Irish pub. The Room is filled with excited chatter, catching up and steak and Guinness pie.
There were no Monday Joys yesterday, not because there weren't any - but because there were so many over #AECONGRESS2025 that I'm still resting up.
Oh, and my wonderful friend from my masters has also arrived for a visit so we spent time having afternoon tea.
I'm filled with a lot of joy currently
About to check out from my hotel for #AECONGRESS2025.
Every morning the same Irish lady who has worked there for over 40 years has run the breakfast.
Today was the first time I was the only one there. She came back out the kitchen to say "are you Irish?"
I'm not, but she said she's been convinced
Live responsive drawing no 2 as documenting
Saturday - improving physical and mental health 8
inc Gina from play Inc describing Brick Clubs (using Lego to support autistic YP)
Lego Works for adults too :)
Alt text explains
#AECongress2025 #AuDHD #Lego #Autistic #MentalHealth #Dexterity
Elizabeth (white woman with long brown hair) poses between Ginnie (white woman with long brown hair) on the left, and Miriam Kenny (white woman with shoulder-length brown hair) on the right. Ginnie wears a black jumpsuit, black dress shoes, and an orange Communication 4 ALL t-shirt. Elizabeth wears a white C4A t-shirt, red jacket, and black pants, and holds her iPad. Catherine wears a jean jacket, blue-and-white plant-patterned dress, and white sneakers. All wear conference nametag lanyards.
Our friend Miriam Kenny, Founder of Involve Autism, an Irish parent-led advocacy group, is very supportive of typing for nonspeakers. We will be back to continue our work with you!
#aecongress2025
Elizabeth stands outside an office building’s doors. Above her is a banner with text that reads “WELCOME 14th Autism Europe International Congress, 11th-13th September 2025, Dublin, Ireland.” The vertical poster on the left contains Autism Europe’s logo, a photo of a building with some trees in the background, and a “DETAILED PROGRAMME” QR code. The poster on the right contains As I Am Ireland’s Autism Charity’s logo, a photo of a Dublin bridge and buildings, and a “MOBILE APP” QR code.
Day 3 of the @autismeurope.bsky.social International Congress included Elizabeth’s presentation to a packed auditorium of 500+ researchers, therapists, teachers, parents and allies. We made many connections with organizations from around the world that serve nonspeakers.
#aecongress2025
Conference slide showing presenter names and topics
So pleased to have been able to present my research on #autisticwomen & #employment this week in Dublin at the 14th Autism Europe Congress, & a privilege to hear so many brilliant keynote & other presenters set out a better, more inclusive future for autistic people worldwide #AECongress2025 #dublin
Right, time to say goodbye to #AECongress2025 see folks in Bilbao in 3 years time for #AECongress2028 👋💜♾️
Oh, a video, great! Really not sure rapidly changing images and booming music is something I can cope well with after 3 full days of Congress!
#AECongress2025
💜♾️
The Spanish team highlighting that they want to ensure high needs autistic people are included in the 2028 Congress
#AECongress2025
💜♾️
Sad to have missed the closing ceremony but too tired. A great time was had though, thanks #AECongress2025 and everyone who attended.
A speech from the Spanish team now, been spoken in both Spanish and English on stage, with the English translation being spoken by a late diagnosed autistic women
#AECongress2025
#AECongress2028
💜♾️🇮🇪🇪🇸
Photograph of a screen showing a presentation slide titled "15th Autism Europe International Congress 2028 Bilbao September 14 - 16"
The announcement of where the 15th Congress in 2028 is going to be . . . . Huge round of flappause to the words "Bilbao, Spain"!!!
Wooohooo, love a trip to Spain!!
😁☀️😎🇪🇸
#AECongress2025
💜♾️
Harald Neerland, President of @autismeurope.bsky.social on stage now, joking that Adam has stolen everything he wanted to say! 😆
#AECongress2025
💜♾️
Closing ceremony time
Thank you
@asiamireland.bsky.social
@autismeurope.bsky.social
More autistic research shift
Less shifty autism research
#AECongress2025 #AuDHD #Dublin
Photograph of a screen showing a white man in a dark blue suit delivering a speech
I have no idea how @asiamireland.bsky.social CEO Adam is still going today, much less talking on stage right now!!
Its been a hectic, overwhelming, fun, tough, bonkers 3 days and the whole AsIAm team deserve a huge round of flappause for their efforts 👏🙌👋👍
#AECongress2025
💜♾️
Thank you to @hjellis.bsky.social for the fab live-posting from #AECongress2025 It’s been a treat to follow along from Wales.
Back in the main hall for the final time for the Closing Ceremony (and symbolic handover to the Congress 2028 host, this really is like the Olympics!)
Nice, low-volume, soothing background 'nature' music that is helping keep the headache at bay for a bit
#AECongress2025
💜♾️
Missed the third question as was trying to stifle a cough into my scarf! Think it referenced non-speaking autistic people's input to research participation.
A comment now from a former A-rep (the name for the autistic reps involved in the EU-AIMS project), mention of SBC
#AECongress2025
💜♾️
Another audience question, this one about accountability re data collected and where it gets shared/misrepresented by other uses
Mary mentioning a data sharing protocol having been created that is very robust and had input from all the different groups involved in the project
#AECongress2025
💜♾️
Mary answering an audience question now about how to bring others (like the NHS) on this journey to being more inclusive/neuroaffirmative
Answer mentions how you still have to mostly use deficit-language and talk about outcomes to get grant funding
#AECongress2025
💜♾️
The future of research is sounding very positive, I just wish the global situation/public view of autism would go back to progress rather than regression!
#AECongress2025
💜♾️
Eva and Mary talking about their current projects now, looking at the commonalities between autistic and non-autistic people and the impact of shame
#AECongress2025
💜♾️
Mary talking about the changes in the world of autism professionals, how many more 'openly' autistic people there are now at conferences and in/leading research projects. Congress is a good example as progress can be seen more clearly because it's only every 3 years
#AECongress2025
💜♾️
There was an internal survey done of the researchers involved in the project, and 8% of the researchers had a diagnosis of autism and 15% were considering or waiting for a diagnosis
#AECongress2025
💜♾️
Eva and Mary now touching on the accusations of eugenics.
There was elements of the work looking at DNA and biomarkers, but it was not an aim of the project to "cure" or be able to "eliminate" autism in any way
There was a shift in goals to include looking at quality of life
#AECongress2025
💜♾️
Mary talking about being seen as "less than" by the researchers in the room, how dismissively she was treated as one of the autistic people involved and how that treatment changed when the researchers learnt of her profession as a medical doctor
#AECongress2025
💜♾️
