WIRRAL Autistic Society is set to host its first national conference. 

Autism and technology will be the theme of the conference, which will be hosted by the Wirral charity at Old Trafford in October. 

The conference, Autech 2015, will gather world-leading experts in robotics, biometrics and cloud-based technology, to explore how people with autism can be better understood, supported and encouraged to live the fullest lives possible.

Wirral Autistic Society is a multi award-winning charity employing more than 800 people and attracting attention nationwide for its services, including an innovative employment training scheme for young people with Asperger's syndrome and a specialist training consultancy, Autism in Practice.

Autech 2015 is for social care professionals, educators and autism practitioners - but also for the families and carers of those with autism who want to ensure they are briefed on the very latest technological developments.  

Conference organiser Jane Carolan, operations director at Wirral Autistic Society, said: "The pace at which technology is moving forward is quite incredible.

"Today's portable devices, apps and cloud computing are opening up a new world to the people we support. 

"And who knows where this innovation may lead us. Over the next decade we may even see thought-activated technology, advanced robotics and augmented reality - technologies that we once thought of as science fiction - becoming widely available and affordable.

"Assistive technologies can be truly life-changing and we feel it is part of our mission as an autism charity to ensure everyone has access this information and is part of the debate about how we want to support people with autism in the future."

Conference speakers will include:

  • Dr Matthew Goodwin from North Eastern University, Boston, on biometric readers and how they are being used to ‘see inside’ the bodies and minds of those with autism, so that anxiety attacks can be predicted. 

Matthew, who will be presenting to a UK audience for the first time, predicts that biometric wristbands could be commercially available in two to five years.

  • Dr Ben Robins from the University of Hertfordshire, with Kaspar, a child-sized humanoid robot designed to help teachers and parents support children with autism.  Kaspar robots are now on trial in homes across the UK.
  • David Fry, chief executive of  Brain in Hand, a cutting-edge assistive technology designed to reduce anxieties for people out and about in the community.
     
  • Yvonne Crowhurst and Yvonne Smith from Wirral Autistic Society, experts helping non-verbal people with autism find their voices through the use of iPad based communications apps.
     
  • Also speaking will be autism champion Dame Stephanie Shirley named by the Science Council as one of the top 100 practising scientists in the UK, and autism sensory expert Olga Bogdashina.

For more information and to book places, visit autech2015.co.uk