Autism Acceptance Festival
DCU, NCI and ATU Sligo are, respectively, the first, second and third HEIs in Ireland to receive AsIAm designation as Autism Friendly HEIs. This year, CCT, DkIT and NCAD are in the processing of applying for this designation.
In 2024, we six higher education institutes are proud to work together to host the first Autism Acceptance Festival, a series of public-facing events to centre autistic people and promote autism acceptance. All events will be online and free to attend.
Learn more about the speakers in this event and find more events in this series by visiting our Festival Hub.
Autism and the Work Environment
Robert Ward, from NCI, will moderate a panel about supporting autistic staff in the workplace, joined by :
Any autistic person exploring the world of work and/or any employer will be interested in this session: if you have questions around reasonable accommodations or the positive impact on a business of active inclusion of autistic staff, this is the session for you.
Our Panelists
Bios for each of our speakers can be found at the end of the page.
Event Details
Time: 1-2:00pm
Date: Wednesday 6th March
Other Events
If you are interested in finding out more about our other events, please visit our Festival Hub to check out what is happening.
More information on our panelists
Claire O’Neill
Claire is an experienced leader, executive coach, and educator. She is a published author and is currently researching Autism in the workplace. Claire uses her professional and personal experience to help organisations in the development of neuroaffirmative workplace practices.
Edel McSorley
Edel is the Operations Director at MrPRICE Branded Bargains, responsible for strategic direction, vision, growth and performance of MrPRICE. As a seasoned professional with over 25 years experience in retail management and tactical business leadership, Edel is known for her drive and expertise in operations and change management that grants the ability to inspire and cultivate inclusive leadership in the organization.
“Here at MrPRICE Branded Bargains we focus on workplace inclusion. For us, inclusion is an overarching culture encompassing diversity, equality, and many other aspects of our working lives. Our inclusive culture empowers diverse talent to think differently and share their experiences and perspectives, which in turn is a key driver for our innovation, development and engagement.
We understand that everyone has a different way of processing information interacting with others and achieving goals and these differences allow staff to outshine their disabilities
Our commitment to is to increase employment rates of people with disabilities. A crucial part of the implementation are our partnerships with National Learning Network (NLN), the education and training division of the Rehab Group, AsIAm (Ireland's National Autism Charity), Peter McVerry (National Housing and Homeless Charity), Chime (The National Charity for Deafness and Hearing Loss), Kare ( Supported Employment Services), etc.
We are honoured and proud of the 4 biggest accomplishments to date in Diversity and Inclusion, the People's choice award at Charity Excellence Awards 2022, Talent Acquisition Strategy award at Irish HR Champion Awards 2023, Advancing Disability Equality Award at National Diversity and Inclusion Awards 2023 and to have been selected as part of the finalists and win Advancing Social Inclusion Award at National Diversity and Inclusion Awards 2024.”