Charlie Webb - Autism and Me

02/06/2025

We stand united 🏳️‍🌈

30/04/2025

Autism, Assessments & Authenticity: My BBC Radio Moment! ♾️

It was so lovely to have the opportunity to share my story as a neurodivergent person on BBC Shropshire discussing my lived experiences with autism, including the challenges and strengths that autistic people possess.

Talking openly about neurodiversity can be both empowering and emotional, but I believe it’s so important to raise awareness, challenge misconceptions, and help others feel less alone in their own journeys.

Thank you to BBC Radio Shropshire for creating space for these conversations.

You can listen to the full interview here (1:14:00): https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m002bbjw

Clare's here to brighten up your mid-morning with music, conversation and updates.

29/04/2025

📻 On Air Tomorrow! 📻

Pleased to share that my Interview with BBC Shropshire will air tomorrow at 11:10am! ♾️ I spoke to the delightful Clare Ashford about my personal journey with autism, including my lived experiences and the process of navigating an Autism Assessment.

Whether you're on your own path to understanding neurodiversity, supporting someone who is, or just want to learn more, I’d love for you to tune in. I hope it helps shed some light on what the process can look like and why lived experiences matter.

Catch it on BBC Radio Shropshire tomorrow and if you are not able to give it a listen live, it will be available to stream on BBC Sounds shortly after transmission. Your ongoing support is unconditional and much appreciated 🫶🏼

26/04/2025

🎉 Exciting news! 🎉

I’m honoured to be invited back for another interview on BBC Shropshire as part of Autism Acceptance Month. I’ll be sharing more about my lived experiences as an autistic person, as it has been a lifelong journey of learning, growing, and advocating.

I’ll also be opening up about going through Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) to help manage OCD and Trichotillomania, and how that process has helped me understand myself better and build strategies for daily life.

As someone who is neurodivergent and works as a Team Assistant at the All Ages Autism Hub for the past three years, I have had first hand experience of seeing how powerful and impactful it can be for people to embrace their diagnosis at any stage of life. Getting an autism diagnosis, no matter who you are or how you identify, can bring clarity, connection, and a sense of self-worth that everyone deserves.

I’m really grateful for the opportunity to keep these conversations going, and I hope sharing my story can help others feel seen and supported.

Thanks for following along, and if you tune in, I’d love to hear what you think!

My radio interview will be hitting the airwaves on Tuesday 29th April, with timings to be confirmed 📻

15/04/2024

For those of you who missed my pre-recorded radio interview with BBC Radio Shropshire talking all things autism and my prospects for the future, please follow the link for both parts of my interview:

Interview 1 - Living With Autism: 1:35:00

Interview 2 - Future Career Prospects: 2:20:00

As always from the inner recesses of my heart, thank you for your continual support, it means everything and more! This is just the beginning of a journey which I can not wait to watch unfold 🌈

Clare's here to brighten up your mid-morning with music, conversation and updates.

14/04/2024

LISTEN UP👂🏼

I realise that it has been a while since I last posted on my official page, but I would like to confirm that I will be making it my priority from now to regularly post updated content from useful resources and information that will support those who have a formal diagnosis of Autism or are awaiting an Autism Assessment. In testament to that, I shall be sharing my lived experiences with Autism and reaching out to those who may need to talk and discuss neurodiversity.

To mark Autism Acceptance Month, I am delighted to announce that BBC Radio Shropshire reached out to me for a follow-up interview, following my previous two interviews last year, during which I had shared my positive news of obtaining employment with a role at the Telford Autism Hub, and how this had remarkably changed my life, and gave me optimism for the future as a neurodivergent individual. My following interview was to discuss the launch of my official website; 'Charles Webb - Autism And Me', which shares the same title as my page which I launched last year in April! This led to the exciting announcement of my Autobiography which I will be releasing in the foreseeable future and is an ongoing project which will be my driving force to tell my story of living with Autism and my lived experiences which I hope will resonate with many others on the autistic spectrum.

My latest interview has been pre-recorded will be broadcast live on BBC Radio Shropshire tomorrow at 11:35am and repeated again at 12:20pm! 📻 In the interview, I mention that I work in my current job role as a Team Assistant at the Telford Autism Hub and discuss how in my personal life that I have launched my own page and official website which are both respectively called “Charles Webb - Autism and Me”, with the aim to purely capture my life as an autistic adult, as I was formally diagnosed with Autism at the age of 2 years old, and have lived experiences with Autism. I have embraced this aspect of me, and aspire to be an advocate for autistic people, offering tailored support to likeminded individuals, through my own personal lived experiences.

I have spent a lot of time taking care of my own personal well-being over the last twelve months, which has meant I took time away from planning my Autobiography due to personal issues, but rest assured it’s coming in the not too distant future.

My Autobiography will be an insightful journey following my life as a neurodivergent person 🌈

12/10/2023

14/07/2023

This initiative is so effective and needs to be implemented across the board in retail environments 👏🏼

We are hosting an Autism & Sensory shopping hour in all stores in UK next WEDNESDAY, 19th July from 5pm-6pm and would love to invite you all along.

We hope it will be an enjoyable experience for all! ❤️

Event info 👉 https://bit.ly/SmythsEvents

10/07/2023

Standards for learning disability and autism training for health and care staff will improve as government launches a consultation on a draft code of practice.

People with a learning disability and autistic people face poorer health outcomes than the general population, and it is crucial that health and care staff are equipped with the right knowledge and skills to provide high-quality, personalised care and help reduce inequalities in health outcomes.

The new legal training requirement and introduction of a code of practice are important steps in improving the care that people with a learning disability and autistic people receive.

I think it’s crucial that those who do not have a background or understanding of the Autism Spectrum or those with a learning disability to be educated on what life is like anyone with a diagnosis of the latter. I think all employers should enforce Autism and Learning Disability Awareness training on their employees to enable them to be able to understand the behaviours and emotions that autistic individuals go through on a day to day basis. I have first hand experience of meeting people who have no recollection of what Autism is or dismiss it, branding me as “weird” or “odd” because I wanted to be someone’s friend or try to socialise with others. As a society, we have a long journey ahead of us to improve and raise the profile of Autism and learning disabilities alike, as not there is a spectrum and everyone is different, that’s what makes us unique ✨

Standards for learning disability and autism training for health and care staff will improve as government launches a consultation on a draft code of practice.

18/06/2023

Dad, thank you for your time, which you give daily; your care, which you give freely and your love, which you give unconditionally. Happy Father's Day! 💙

18/06/2023

Autistic Pride Day is a pride celebration for autistic people held on 18 June each year. Autistic pride recognises the importance of pride for autistic people and its role in bringing about positive changes in the broader society.

Autistic Pride Day was first celebrated in 2005 by Aspies For Freedom (AFF), who selected 18 June because it was the birthday of the youngest member of the group at that time. AFF modelled the celebration on the gay pride movement.

Organisations around the world celebrate Autistic Pride Day, with events around the world, to connect with one another through autistic events and demonstrate to allistic people (those not on the autism spectrum) that autistic people are unique individuals who should not be seen as cases for treatment.

Autistic pride points out that autistic people have always been an important part of human society. Being autistic is a form of neurodiversity. As with all forms of neurodiversity, most of the challenges autistic people face come from other people's attitudes about autism and a lack of supports and accommodations (ableism), rather than being essential to the autistic condition.

Happy Autistic Pride Day! 🌈

18/06/2023

Happy Father’s Day to all those celebrating today. We hope you have a fantastic day!