Join us for a fireside chat with Tara O’Donnell-Killen of Thriving Autistic and Rachel O’Connor of St Michael’s House and the Adult Autism Practice to discuss pathways for meaningfully accessing mental health services as an autistic adult through both public and private systems. Autistic adults are more likely to experience mental health difficulties such as anxiety and depression. These difficulties are worsened by the daily stress of living in world which is not built for autistic people. Poorer health outcomes are common, UK National Autism strategy estimating a 16 year difference in lifespan between autistic people and their peers.
Despite this, autistic adults experience persistent barriers to having their healthcare needs met. This may be due to communication differences in healthcare providers or even the sensory environment of providers. To discuss how we can best advocate for ourselves in accessing mental health services, our expert speakers will lend their experience.
Tara O’Donnell-Killen is the founder and CEO of Thriving Autistic, a nonprofit specialising in supporting the wellbeing of Autistic adults. She is a psychologist, researcher, lecturer & co-author of the Adult Autism Assessment Handbook: A Neurodiversity Affirmative Approach. Tara is also an Autistic parent of 3 Autistic children.
Rachel is a Clinical Psychologist working in St. Michael’s House within children’s disability services. She also works with the Adult Autism Practice, providing neuro-affirmative autism assessments to adults across Ireland and the UK. Rachel’s doctoral research is focussed on Autistic adults’ mental health, specifically investigating Autistic people’s perspectives on the factors that have impacted their mental health throughout life, as well as their experiences of accessing mental health support. She hopes that the findings will increase our understanding of how to prevent mental health difficulties for Autistic people.
