Sarah-Jane has considerable specialist experience with neurodiverse clients and was asked to be a coach for the Affinity Programme: 

The Affinity Programme is a partnership between Scottish Autism and AT-Autism.  It connects autistic people to professional, time-limited support.  It is immediately accessible and goal-directed, and delivered online up to a maximum of ten one-hour sessions. It utilises coaching, mentoring, and counselling practices and is, at all times, controlled by the client. Support is provided by a diverse and highly skilled team of professionals, including many who are themselves autistic. 

The service was set up in response to the Covid-19 pandemic to support autistic people and their families to manage the stress and anxiety, or practical and emotional issues they were experiencing. These might be related to new or long-term challenges that were exacerbated by the lack of the usual supports available to them.

The role of an Affinity Team Member is to work collaboratively with clients to enable them to meet specific goals set by the client.  Areas where support is sought are typically with mental health, relationships, autistic identity and employment.  Preliminary evaluation shows this to be a highly effective and cost-effective programme with the large majority of clients requiring no follow-up support.

Done some training with Sarah-Jane, but need something more? It's time to experience...

Sarah-Jane is passionate about helping autistic people, their families, friends and supporters live more joyful lives of their own choosing. She is the internationally recognised author of ‘A Different Joy: The Parents’ Guide to Living Better with Autism, Dyslexia, ADHD and More...’, speaker, consultant and coach.

She is a contributing author to ‘Girls and Autism: Educational, Family and Personal Perspectives’ Edited by Barry Carpenter, Francesca Happe and Jo Egerton which was published by Routledge in March 2019; and jointly with her daughter, Elizabeth, in ‘Educating Girls on the Autism Spectrum’ edited by Dr Caroline Bond and Dr. Judith Hebron published by Jessica Kingsley in August 2019. She has written for Nursery World, SEN Magazine, Network Autism, Charity Finance and ICSA.   She has also written online training, ‘Introduction to Autism’ for AC Education to support adoptive and foster parents.

She is a keynote speaker and presented on autism education in China, Scotland, Italy and Greece as well as the UK. Her speaking clients include the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT), Times Educational Supplement (TES), NASEN, Autism Europe, Local Authorities and commercial organisations. Her You Tube Channel, A Different Joy, holds a wealth of resources available to all. Alongside these in-person engagements and delivering online webinars, Sarah-Jane is an experienced coach to autistic and neurodiverse people and their families. She is a regular contributor to the SENDCAST Podcast.

For over 10 years, Sarah-Jane was with the Autism Education Trust working with a range of stakeholders to improve educational provision for young people with autism and securing continuous funding from the UK Department for Education of £6m. She worked with the DfE and stakeholders to develop guidance on Exam accommodations, access arrangements and to report on changes to the exam papers in GCSE English and Maths to OFQUAL and guidance on Exclusions with the National Autistic Society. She has been instrumental in the development, monitoring and management of a number of workforce development programmes including the AET’s award-winning training reached over 207,000 education-based staff in England since 2012. Sarah-Jane was an influential member of the Transforming Autism Education project adapting the AET’s highly successful training programme to meet the context and needs of professionals in Italy and Greece funded by the EU ERASMUS programme.

She designed and delivered marketing programmes and training in the management of key clients for the Construction Industry. She worked on the business plan and management buy-out for the privatisation of a facilities management company and subsequently implemented sales and marketing programmes for the new company.  She has had extensive operational and facilities management experience including leadership of over 100 staff and an operational budget in excess of £17M. Sarah-Jane holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA) specialising in the management of change from City University.

Sarah-Jane identifies as autistic and is the proud mother to two young adults (a late-diagnosed girl and boy) has been married to her husband for over 30 years. She shares her home with 2 aspie cats and an increasing number of coronavirus lockdown paintings. She is also a keen sailor, a singer and has a passion for personal development and lifelong learning.

The Different Joy approach combines the best in up to date research and good practice with a positive, respectful and practical approach to help autistic children, young people, their families, friends and and the professionals who support them, so they can speak their truths, honour the struggle and live calmer, happier lives of their own choosing.

Most coaching is based on expecting you to bring all of your own answers to the table. But what do you do when you are all out of solutions and need experience and expertise as well as a different perspective to take you through a period of transition?

Whether you are feeling stuck, or looking at a challenge you don't yet know how to deal with, I can use my personal and professional expertise to work with you to identify positive, constructive ways of moving forward into the life you want to live.

Different Joy Coaching brings: