Chris Bonnello | SpeakerHub

Personal Details

Bio

I am an autistic advocate, speaker and former teacher, also an author and the writer behind autisticnotweird.com.

My approach to autism goes beyond the concept of 'accepting' those of us who think differently, and deep into what I believe 'diversity and inclusion' truly means. I discuss the invaluable *importance* of neurodiversity and neurodivergence, and how human progress *relies* on diversity of thought. I share these insights when speaking for companies who want to get the best out of their employees, schools who want to support and build up their students, or other professionals who want to provide best practice for the neurodivergent people they work with.

Having been a teacher in both primary and SEND education, I launched Autistic Not Weird in April 2015 to share my insights from both my personal and professional experience. This venture has seen autisticnotweird.com receive several million page hits to date, and attracted over 175,000 followers to my Facebook page of the same name.

I deliver speaking engagements nationally and internationally (as far away as Kolkata, India and Sydney Opera House), have been shortlisted for eight awards to date (winning four), competitively speedsolve Rubik’s cubes (winning a silver medal for blindfold-solving ten cubes at once), and I captained my local Boys’ Brigade company for 13 years. My novel series, Underdogs – a dystopian war series whose heroes are students from a special school – recently released its fourth and final instalment, and its second book was joint runner-up in The Guardian's Not The Booker Prize.

Are you interested in hearing my insights and expertise - whether for conference speaking, training, workshops, masterclasses, mentoring or consultancy? Feel free to send me a message, or email me at chris@autisticnotweird.com.

Current position (4)

Autism Advocate

Autistic Not Weird

Speaker/trainer

Autistic Not Weird

Mentor

Autistic Not Weird

Author

Autistic Not Weird

Degrees (4)

Creative Writing

Nottingham Trent University

2015 to 2017

PGCE Primary

Nottingham Trent University

2008 to 2010

Mathematics with Education

University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne

2004 to 2000

ABC Level 2 Certificate in Counselling Concepts

Sherwood Psychotherapy Training Institute

2020

Presentations

Presentations (5)

Neurodivergence, and making the workplace work

Wondering why neurodivergent employees struggle so much in the workplace? I can assure you, it’s not because they have less potential than neurotypical employees. In this talk, I discuss the background surrounding neurodivergent struggles – in recruitment, retention and performance – and how to meaningfully and effectively address them. (Suitable for companies of all sizes, who have a genuine wish to get the best from their neurodivergent employees.)

The art of accommodation: improving autistic employees’ experiences

Life is made harder for autistic workers whose employers baulk at the mention of ‘accommodations’. After all, how do you actually do it? What will the impact be on your workplace, or even your finances? In this talk, I make incisive points about what “accommodations” actually are, why they’re usually less trouble than you’ve been led to believe, and what the consequences are of getting it right. (Again, suitable for companies of all sizes who have a genuine wish to get the best from their neurodivergent employees.)

Meeting the needs of your autistic clients and service users

After a century of malpractice, often acclaimed by non-autistic ‘experts’ and delivered by workers with honest good intentions, society is now demanding the highest quality provision for autistic service users under their care, including those with complex disabilities. But what does that actually look like? I use my experiences as an autistic special education teacher to talk about how to truly and meaningfully personalise care provision, and offer guidance on how to prioritise a client’s rights and dignity alongside their safety and wellbeing. (Suitable for those who work professionally with autistic people, especially those who feel conscientious about getting it right for those they care for.)

An autistic teacher’s Top 16 Tips for building up autistic students

Having worked as a mainstream primary teacher, an autism-specific special education teacher, and with teenagers outside of the education system altogether, I have a few things to say about how to build (and I use that verb very deliberately) your autistic students, and give them the best guidance to help them navigate through an education system that seems to have been built with ‘everyone else’ in mind. (Suitable for academic staff in all forms of education.)

More information on my school-based work can be found at https://chrisbonnello.com/schools

Lessons I wish I’d learned growing up autistic

Being a former teacher, I try to focus on learning points that the audience can apply to their own lives. So rather than being too autobiographical (or perhaps auti-biographical?), this talk is loaded with insights I have gained from my experience of growing up autistic blended with hilariously awkward stories from my childhood, but all with applicable lessons attached to them. (Suitable for family groups, charities, or schools offering after-school events for parents.)