Crawley autism charity hosts evening with leading expert to inspire listeners to ‘stick at life’

Mr Burns is well known for his humorous and insightful take on life with autism. He is the author of several books including, "Do lemons Have Feathers?" and "Straightening the Banana".

Mr Burn’s busy schedule includes writing guides for schools, lecturing at the University of Winchester and supporting families through the many varied challenges they encounter.

With vast experience of the problems people face, Mr Burns encourages individuals to “stick at life" and challenges those in authority to become better at understanding the needs of families.

Mr Burns shared his own life experiences and highlights some of his recent thinking about autism.

Chairperson of Autism Support Crawley, Marie Cook said: ““We were so excited to be able to host our first hybrid face to face and webinar guest speaker event on Nov 3rd 2022.

We were joined by the incredible David Burns MBE. What he doesn’t know about autism, legislation and supporting families and individuals is not worth knowing.”

Henry Smith MP visited students from Manor Green College who have been spending their autumn doing their bit to create positive change with NCS (National Citizen Service), the country’s flagship youth programme for 16–17-year-olds.

The students, who experience a wide range of learning difficulties, were carrying out the final part of their NCS programme which involves delivering a social action project in their local community.

Their project, called ‘The Importance of Trees’, was carried out with the Gatwick Greenspace Partnership. The students helped with clearing woodland and coppicing at Gatwick Woodlands and also learnt about the local fauna from Tom of the Sussex Wildlife Trust.

Mr Smith said: "I've loved meeting this great bunch of young people making a difference in their community and caring about an important environmental issue."

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NCS is a youth programme that has traditionally run every summer and autumn during school holidays, and offers a range of experiences for young people throughout the year. Teens get the opportunity to mix with a new crowd, learn about independent living, take on new challenges and in the process build lifelong friendships.