Excerpt from a speaking engagement for Autism Awareness Australia: “Five lessons I wish I’d learned growing up autistic”, delivered at Sydney Opera House on 5th April 2018 (subtitles available).
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Shortlisted for the 2023 Speaker Awards!
I am an autistic advocate, speaker, author and a former teacher (in both mainstream and specialist education), with both personal and professional insight into autism. I speak openly, frankly, yet positively, about how to build up autistic people to become the best we can be. Examples of common topics include:
- How to recruit and retain autistic employees and enable them to perform at their best;
- How to build up your autistic students and help them reach their potential;
- Lessons I wish I’d learned growing up as an autistic person (particularly popular with parents);
- Looking after the wellbeing and mental health of autistic clients, patients or service users;
- And, following the publication of the Underdogs series, regular author visits to schools.
Examples of audiences I have spoken for:
- Companies/corporations
- Education conferences (including SEND conferences)
- CAMHS/NHS conferences and teams
- School staff teams
- Students themselves (mainstream and specialist education)
- National Autistic Society branches (also co-chaired the 2019 Autism and Mental Health Conference)
- Professionals working in recruitment
- Autism charities and parent groups
- The UK Autism Shows, annually 2016 – present
- The Boys’ Brigade National Conference in Belfast
- India Autism Center conference, Kolkata
- Six people in a leisure centre café, one of whom was there by accident
- A sell-out audience at Sydney Opera House.
To organise a speaking engagement, please contact me via “chris [at] autisticnotweird [dot] com” (obviously use “@” and “.” – I’m just making things difficult for the spambots), or via Autistic Not Weird’s Facebook page.
High-profile testimonials:
Chris’s story is amazing and he is an incredible speaker on neurodiversity. He delivers keynotes with humour, humility and with an incredible insight that goes way beyond inspiration. If you want a neurodiverse speaker who can hold an audience in the palm of his hand and take them on a journey that leaves them more connected than before, book him.
-Jaz Ampaw-Farr, Speaker of the Year 2022
I really think you’ll soon be one of the most influential voices in the autism world.
-Travis Saunders, education consultant and autism advocate, following the Sydney Opera House event.
In terms of individual contributions to the autism world, you’re way up there.
-Dr Luke Beardon, Senior Lecturer in Autism at Sheffield Hallam University.
Can we have you back?
-Gareth Parry, CEO of Remploy UK (literally moments after I sat down at the end of my talk).
Testimonials from professionals:
The staff are all raving about your training this morning. The general consensus is that it’s the best training we’ve ever had.
-Teacher, primary school in Belfast
Thank you for speaking at our AGM. We expected you were going to be good. As it turned out, you were actually awesome.
-Managing director, Northamptonshire Autism Charity
Hearing Chris talk was the best hour of my Friday.
-Support worker (MacIntyre No Limits), Oxford
I’ve been teaching for 17 years and this was honestly the best training I’ve ever received, I wasn’t even counting down until break time!
-Teacher, primary school in Basingstoke
Testimonials from parents:
You may very well have saved my daughter’s life, and I say that with no exaggeration.
–Parent online
You have profoundly changed my attitude to how I take care of my autistic child. I was so negative before now.
–Parent in Milton Keynes
I don’t have to worry about my teenage son as much as I have been doing. Chris is very much like him.
-Parent in Cardiff
It’s an over-used word, but your talk was inspirational. I think our young people benefit greatly when they hear positive messages coming from someone like themselves (and, particularly, someone who isn’t their mum or dad!)
-Parent in Lewisham
Schools could really benefit from Chris delivering staff training to them.
-Parent in Cardiff
Testimonials from young people:
Hearing your advice tonight has helped me get on the right path. Thank you.
-Rhys, 16
You are good at talking.
-Elijah, 8
Again, please contact me via “chris [at] autisticnotweird [dot] com” to organise an appearance at your event. I always respond to speaking engagement requests, although please remember to check your junk mail folder. In the event that I don’t, I suspect it’s because your email has bounced: in those cases, I can also be contacted via Autistic Not Weird’s Facebook page.
Many thanks,
Chris Bonnello, BSc (hons) PGCE MA
-Underdogs, a near-future dystopia series where the heroes are teenagers with special needs, is a character-driven war story which pitches twelve people against an army of millions, balancing intense action with a deeply developed neurodiverse cast.
Book one can be found here:
Amazon UK | Amazon US | Amazon CA | Amazon AU
Audible (audiobook version)
Review page on Goodreads
Chris Bonnello is a national and international autism speaker, available to lead talks and training sessions from the perspective of an autistic former teacher. For further information please click here (opens in new window).
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