Deafness and Autism Spectrum Condition networking group Our group is open to any professional working with deaf children and young people. The group, which meets on Teams, provides a platform for sharing good practice, asking questions, discussing concerns and supporting each other in our professional roles. All are very welcome. Please contact our Education Advisor Carole at carolew@ewing-foundation.org.uk if you would like to come along to our meetings.
Free introductory session to ‘Way to Play’! 3rd December 2026
Save the day for ‘Way to Play’, an approach to playing joyously with autistic children! By combining the expertise of deaf education and autism practitioners with the principles of ‘Way to Play’, we hope to better support and improve outcomes for autistic deaf children.
Following very positive feedback from our conference last March, we are delighted to offer you a free introductory session about ‘Way to Play’, a programme based on the work of Autism New Zealand. The session, which takes place on Teams on 3rd December 2026, 4-5.30pm, will be presented by Neil Stuart of Autism New Zealand, and Alison Taylor, a former lecturer at Lincoln Bishop University.
This event is for professionals working with autistic deaf children and young people in mainstream settings, resource provisions and specialist placements. Us teachers know that the needs presented by each deaf learner are unique and, with an additional diagnosis of autism, we fully recognise that an individual and holistic approach to support becomes essential. As Qualified Teachers of Deaf Children and Young People, we have the expertise in deafness; the presenters Neil and Alison have the expertise in working with autistic children. We rarely find professionals who have expertise in both areas.
Through this introduction to the principles of ‘Way to Play’ with very experienced practitioners in the field of autism, we have the unique opportunity to combine the two areas of expertise. We firmly believe that this will enable us to better support and positively influence short- and long-term outcomes for autistic deaf learners.
Further details to be announced in mid-October 2026. Please contact us if you would like to be notified when bookings open.
Neil will be back in the UK during April, May and June 2027, and will be offering face-to-face sessions to local Sensory Teams and their colleagues in aligning SEND teams. If you would like further information about dates and fees, please contact Neil by email at experiencethejoyofplay@gmail.com .
Recent events:
March 2026: A playful approach for autistic children – presented by Neil Stuart (Autism New Zealand) and Alison Taylor (Bishop Grosseteste University)
This training day was built around the work of Autism New Zealand. It looked at Way to Play, an approach to playing joyously with autistic children, developed by Neil Stuart and Tanya Blakey from Autism New Zealand.
Together, we looked at how this approach can help build children’s communication, social reciprocity, shared attention, imitation, emotion regulation, planning, and problem-solving skills through joyful caregiver-child interactions. Neil and Alison also introduced Let’s Play, the parent mediated programme developed from the Way to Play approach.
During the training, Neil and Alison described the theoretical basis of this approach as well as demonstrating strategies used in Way to Play and Let’s Play. We hope this engaging and interactive day leaves our delegates inspired to implement new ideas and ways of working into their own practice with deaf learners.
May 2025: Let’s look a little closer…
Working with deaf children and young people with Autism pre- and post-diagnosis.
Over 60 people joined us for a half-day webinar where experts in their field looked more closely at how we can best support deaf learners with autism. During the event, we considered strategies and interventions that can inform and enhance our everyday practice pre- and post-diagnosis of autism.
Sessions focused on:
- Meeting the sensory needs of deaf learners
- How best to facilitate deaf learners’ engagement with technology and supporting communication if the engagement with technology is delayed
- Drilling down into a case study – identifying needs, next steps and working within a multi-disciplinary approach
During November 2024 and January 2025, we delivered a two-part online workshop on Social Stories™ with Nicky Wallace, Specialist Teacher for Autism, York Specialist Teaching Team. Social Stories™ were developed by Carol Gray in the early 1990s. The terms ‘social story’ and ‘social stories’ are trademarks originated and owned by Carol Gray. The workshops looked at how Social Stories can be used effectively with deaf children and young people.
Session 1 included:
- What are Social Stories and why do we use them?
- The basic rules of how to write a Social Story
- How to share and read Social Stories with a child
- Discussion around issues specific to delivering Social Stories for deaf children and young people
- This session included some useful scaffolds and checklists for writing Social Stories
Session 2 included:
- Attendees had the opportunity to practise writing a Social Story
- We used our Social Stories to practise editing, critiquing and developing our skills and understanding to write Social Stories™ for maximum effectiveness
Our first Social Stories training sold out quickly, so if you were unable to book this time, please email info@ewing-foundation.org.uk and we will keep you posted of future Social Stories training dates.