We understand how important it is, especially for autistic people, to know what to expect before doing something new.
An important part of understanding the programme of activities, is understanding some of the challenges and benefits of attending.
Everything at Autscape is completely optional. You are not obliged to attend anything, communicate with anyone (unless you are a parent or carer), or participate in any way. If you are interested in doing things, there is plenty going on to entertain you throughout the day.
- Schedule: An outline of what type of activity is happening at when.
- Leisure and Unprogrammed Time: The other bits and pieces such as meals, breaks, and free time.
- Presenters: The bios we have gathered for the presenters we have accepted to date.
- Presentations: Descriptions of various workshops and other activities we expect to run.
Theme
The theme for Autscape 2008 is: Inertia and Action.
A common dictionary definition of "Inertia" is the tendency to stay in the same situation if no one or nothing intervenes. Often autistic people find we get 'stuck' on one thought pattern, activity or focus so it's hard to get started on things or changing from one thing to another—sometimes we call this 'inertia'. Difficulty dealing with change may also be related to inertia. Lack of motivation and depression may make matters worse.
To many autistic people "Action" is an important countermeasure to inertia. Action as the ability to move on, get things done, or change status quo. This can be in every aspect of our lives: daily life activities and tasks, social relationships, physical, creative or political action and more.
Broad Outline
Morning
There will be scheduled presentations in both lecture style and interactive workshops, on topics of relevance and interest to autistic people, with half hour long breaks in between.
Afternoon
After lunch we have a more relaxed, but still structured time, including structured leisure sessions, non-verbal workshops and facilitated discussions.
Evening
In the evening, there will be entertainment, informal discussions, videos, free time activities and a bar.
Always
There are always opportunities to go for walks, see the village, spend time relaxing in the grounds, socialise, relax or watch television in one of the common rooms, play board games, or other activities you might think of.
Autscape fees also include meals and plenty of coffee and tea.
Presentation Types
Lectures
Lectures are scheduled one at a time so anyone can attend without having to choose. They are generally more of the presenter speaking and less interactive than workshops, but each lecture should have an opportunity to ask questions. Don't let the word "lecture" put you off, it's only an explanation of the presentation style, not an indication that it will be long and boring.
Workshops
Workshops are usually more interactive than lectures. They are also usually done in smaller groups. Autscape workshops will probably be scheduled two at a time, so some choices will have to be made. As well as allowing us to have a more varied programme and fewer people in each group, this stimulates discussion outside of the sessions as participants share what they learnt in the sessions they attended.
Structured Discussions
In the evenings, we will have a number of both unstructured and structured discussions. Structured discussions have a facilitator who has some information to share on the topic and will help participants each have their say.