Harnessing the voices and aspirations of autistic people with learning disabilities to shape support in older age.

The future of health and care in Scotland concerns everyone. Yet, there remains a significant gap in opportunities for people from marginalised groups to participate in crucial conversations that shape service provision.

How can we effectively capture the views and opinions of under-represented communities on health services, social care, and ageing-related needs? What are the best strategies for health and care providers to engage these groups in discussions about ageing, health, and care?

In this event, we will explore creative means of engaging seldom listened-to voices in discussions about health and care provision for older people. The speakers will share a collaborative project that has engaged filmmaking and artwork to harness the voices and concerns of autistic adults who have learning disabilities.

We will show a compelling short documentary film made by Iceberg Productions – a team of autistic filmmakers supported by Scottish Autism. We will also share artwork collated by Clare Mills of ListenThinkDraw that captures our conversations with supported autistic people and professionals about their visions and aspirations for support in older age.

This event aims to spark meaningful discussions about inclusive health and social care between researchers, health and care providers, and people with lived experience.

Speakers: Professor Mary Stewart (Heriot-Watt University) and Dr Joe Long (Scottish Autism).

Part of the Royal Society of Edinburgh’s Curious programme.