When I was first asked to collaborate on the bid for the NHS-funded Autism Central project, and become part of the team, it was a a really easy decision for me to say to 'YES!' to being involved.

For years I’ve had a long-standing working relationship with Anna Freud, where I guest lecture on five different teaching streams. I was also involved in the National Autism Trainer Project (NATP) from conception and design in the bidding phase, through to delivery as a lead trainer and content creator. The NATP was an NHS England funded service run by the Anna Freud Centre and AT-Autism, designed to support staff to improve the care provided to Autistic people whilst in mental health services. 

I’m a research associate of GRRAND (Group for Research in Relationships And NeuroDiversity) University College London, and most importantly, for many years I have had a close personal and working relationship with Dr Georgia Pavlopoulou, Associate Professor of Psychology at University College London, and the driving force behind both the NATP and the Autism Central projects.

My role on Autism Central is mostly behind the scenes, providing quality assurance, consultancy, supervision to delivery teams, along with national and local work. You might occasionally see me do an interview or work collaboratively on a series, but mostly, publicly, you will hear me, on the animations I have written and narrated, that are co-produced with Josh Knowles Animation.

It’s an absolute pleasure to be involved in a project providing so much support and education to so many families for free, and I hope that this can add weight to a movement for change that results in far better experiences for Autistic people and those that support us.

On this page you can find out more about Autism Central, see the animations I've created and link to the blogs I've written. If you'd like to jump straight to finding out how you can be personally supported you can do that here; 121 Coaching Support and here Group Learning Events.

Kieran, The Autistic Advocate

I am really proud to have written original scripts (and also provided the voice-over) for many of the Autism Central animations. 

You can watch them on the Autism Central website and the Autism Central YouTube channel.

If you watch one of the videos please do remember to like it on YouTube and follow the Autism Central YouTube channel (where there are even more useful videos and a podcast too!). 

If you're sharing the videos with friends/family/colleagues (and please do, that's why we made them!) then please share the links to either the Autism Central website or the Autism Central YouTube channel. The more we can get people to visit all of Autism Central's resources the more people we can help, so I really appreciate your support. 

(with a surprise voice over from my youngest and wife!)

Over the project I will be regularly contributing to the Autism Central blog with original pieces of writing. I will post the links here as new articles are published.

Words Build Worlds - Responsibility, Harm and Hope (Nov 2025, co-authored with Dr Georgia Pavlopoulou). 

"Language does not simply describe reality, it builds it; and when that language is careless, soaked in stigma, or rooted in fear, it harms."

Read the full article 

Join an online event for families of Autistic people to learn, reflect and work together, sharing knowledge and skills, including virtual meet-ups, education family guide sessions and reflective sessions.

All sessions are free NHS England commissioned sessions delivered by Anna Freud and are peer-led and co-produced, grounded in lived experience and research.

Autism Central is England's national autism peer education programme, designed to support families and the wider support networks of Autistic people.

One-to-ones are open to Autistic and non-autistic family members of all ages and carers - including parents, partners, siblings, adult children, grandparents, relatives - as well as friends, colleagues, and neighbours.

Autism Central is the National Peer Education Programme for families and support networks of Autistic people of all ages in England. The programme is delivered by Anna Freud and commissioned by NHS England. The programme offer families education, coaching, and connection through resources, one-to-one peer support, and community events. ​

Autism Central is a peer education programme for families and support networks of Autistic people of all ages in England. The programme will help you to learn about Autistic ways of being in the world, autistic mental health and navigate life and services with greater confidence. ​

What is Autism Central?​

Autism Central offers families and support networks of Autistic people education, coaching, and connection, through resources, one-to-one peer support, and community events.  ​

For everyone: supports the full network around an autistic person, including parents, carers, partners, siblings, children, friends, colleagues and neighbours.​

Learn from others: Its fully co-produced and co-delivered with autistic people of all ages and their family and support networks, to ensure support is shaped by lived experience.​

Free to access: The programme is delivered by Anna Freud, a mental health charity for children and young people, and commissioned by the NHS. ​

Why take part?​
Autism Central has now supported more than 30,000 families​
95% of attendees would recommend to others (Based on attendee feedback from family guide sessions in October 2025).​

“I found it quite validating - knowing that all of our families, or young people, are different but also understanding what has worked for others may work for us.” Parent feedback​

“I felt heard and respected and I came away with ideas to help my son, and the feeling that I am not alone in my journey.” Parent feedback​
​
How to take part​
- Join an online group learning event for families of autistic people to reflect and work together, sharing knowledge and skills, including drop-ins, education family guide sessions and reflective sessions.​
- Book a one-to-one coaching session with a peer guide to access practical guidance and signposting.​
- Sign-up to the monthly newsletter.​
- Find information and resources, including blogs, podcasts and animations to learn more on the Autism Central website.

I know not everyone wants, or needs to buy one of my books or training courses, but I often find people will read one of my free articles, or one of my resources pages like this one, and want to say ‘thank you’ (and this is really appreciated as they’re a lot of work to write!)

Buying me a virtual coffee is a really easy way to say thanks.

It also supports me to keep being able to create new, free content and also keep my older, free content up-to-date. It also allows me to keep my website ad-free.

My Autism FAQs page is really useful and a good place to start if you’re new to my work and want to explore more. Thanks for your support, Kieran.

And, as a thank you for joining, you'll get a 10% off code emailed to you which you can use on Kieran's on-demand autism training

Kieran Rose - The Autistic Advocate; advocating for the Autistic community since 2017 

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