Caroline Hearst

 
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Caroline is an autistic Autism educator.  She offers consultation sessions about Autism that come from an informed insider perspective.  These sessions provide a safe place to explore how Autism might be affecting your life and help you consider how to utilise autistic strengths and meet autistic challenges. She is a strong believer in the neurodiversity paradigm which posits the idea that Autism is not an aberration, but is a natural part of the wide variety of possible human brain configurations.

Caroline discovered she is autistic in 2008.  This discovery was an epiphany that changed her life for the better and has enabled her to develop an understanding of Autism that she is keen to share with other autistic people to help support them maximise their strengths and meet their challenges.

One of the things that makes life hard for autistic people is the stigma associated with Autism in society as a whole and the lack of understanding of neurodiversity in many helping professions.  To contribute to creating a more positive environment for autistic people, Caroline has designed and developed training courses about Autism for therapists. 

With the aim of growing the autistic community Caroline founded AutAngel a community interest company run by and for autistic people..  Under the umbrella of AutAngel Caroline edited “Being Autistic”, a short book detailing the stories of 9 autistic adults. She also set up a post-identification programme for autistic adults “Exploring Being Autistic” that combines education about Autism with peer support.   
Caroline has qualifications in Art Psychotherapy, Librarianship and Adult education. She has worked in various roles including Consumer Advisor in mental health, trade union recruiter and card making tutor and is an experienced meditator.  

In her sessions Caroline offers empathy and support and utilises her personal experience and the various tools at her disposal to facilitate a space where clients can explore the impact of Autism on their lives in a realistic and positive way.