Faced with another year of cutbacks in funding and resources the NAS Conference 2013 sought to celebrate creativity and innovation by focusing on the positive work being done to improve the lives of people with autism. Keynote sessions were given by top international speakers, including Dr Julie Beadle-Brown from the Tizard Centre, “Costs and outcomes of skilled support for people with severe intellectual disability and complex needs”
In line with the theme of the Conference, Dr Julie Beadle-Brown, Dr Nicola Shaughnessy & Dr Melissa Trimmingham (both from University of Kent, Arts Department) gave a briefing on “Imaging Autism: exploring autistic imagination and the impact of drama based techniques”
This year for the first time the NAS launched a new initiative with the introduction of their Autism Professionals Awards. These acknowledged the outstanding contributions and achievements of individuals, teams and organisations who have demonstrated excellence, dedication and commitment to improving the lives of people with autism.