Name: Emily @21andsensory
Pronouns: she/her
Neurodivergence: Autistic. Sensory Processing Disorder. Dyslexia.
Professional Role: Illustrator, Graphic Designer, Podcaster. Speaker.
Bio: My name is Emily, I’m 28. I have Sensory Processing Disorder also known and referred to as SPD. I am Autistic and Dyslexic. I am an Illustrator, Graphic Designer and Podcaster who lives and works in the UK. I have a first-class Graphic Design degree. As an Illustrator I have worked with clients such as the BBC, BBC Bitesize, Oxford University, Durham University, Reading University, Royal College of Psychiatrists, Jessica Kingsley Publishers (illustrating a book) and Tiimo to name a few! I've also worked on research projects such as Oxford University's 'Sensory Street' and on the advisory board of a University of Durham project called 'Triple A'.
I host and run the 21andsensory Podcast. I’ve spoken to some amazing guests including fab Authors, Actors, Influencers, Illustrators, Artists, TikTokers, Educators, Activists, Writers, Speakers, Producers, YouTubers, Podcasters, Sports Teams, Researchers, Scientists and even my own family! Plus many more… I have given talks for St Andrew’s University, Disabled Students Network (October 2022), Autistica Research Festival (July 2022), The South West Clinical Excellence Network (CEN) team in Autism, NHS (April 2022, Virtual) and Triple A Project: Panel member on the Triple A ESRC Festival of Social Science Webinar (November 2021) and at the Royal College of Psychiatrists (May 2023).
I host and run the 21andsensory Podcast. I’ve spoken to some amazing guests including fab Authors, Actors, Influencers, Illustrators, Artists, TikTokers, Educators, Activists, Writers, Speakers, Producers, YouTubers, Podcasters, Sports Teams, Researchers, Scientists and even my own family! Plus many more… I have given talks for St Andrew’s University, Disabled Students Network (October 2022), Autistica Research Festival (July 2022), The South West Clinical Excellence Network (CEN) team in Autism, NHS (April 2022, Virtual) and Triple A Project: Panel member on the Triple A ESRC Festival of Social Science Webinar (November 2021) and at the Royal College of Psychiatrists (May 2023).
Recent Publications: Interviewed in articles:
-Metro UK article about The Autism Friendly Cookbook written by Lydia Wilkins (I am mentioned!)
-My London News ‘I didn’t tell the people I work with I am autistic because of how I thought I’d be treated’ (April 2022, World Autism Acceptance Day)
-Journal Magazine ‘Navigating Neurodiversity with 21andsensory’ (April 2022, World Autism Acceptance Day)
The National Autistic Society: Stories from the Spectrum: Emily
-By Jenna Gensic from www.learnfromautistics.com here: ‘Autism Interview #130: Emily on diagnosis and Sensory Processing Disorder’
-By Victoria Ellen (Actually Aspling) on actuallyaspling.wordpress.com here: Interview with 21andSensory!
-By Lydia Wilkins here: ‘The Daily Sensory Things That Are Hard To Handle 21 & Sensory on diagnosis, adaptations and positivity’
All articles linked on my website here: https://21andsensory.wordpress.com/current-projects-pr/
Research:
-Sensory Street co-author of published research paper, University of Oxford “It Is a Big Spider Web of Things”: Sensory Experiences of Autistic Adults in Public Spaces’ Authors: Keren MacLennan, Catherine Woolley, Emily @21andsensory, Brett Heasman, Jess Starns, Becky George, and Catherine Manning (2022)
-Triple A, University of Durham: I was on the Advisory Group for a Durham University project called ‘Triple A’ (which stands for Attention, Arousal and Anxiety) and I was a Panel member on the Triple A ESRC Festival of Social Science Webinar (November 2021)
-Sensory Supermarket Guide, University of Reading: We have been successfully awarded a new grant – the Research England Participatory Research Fund through the University of Reading. This funding will be used to develop an evidence-based, co-produced guide to make supermarkets more accessible for autistic shoppers. The guide will be expertly designed by our team member Emily @21andsensory (in 2023)
Other:
-My illustration portfolio (I use these illustrations in my talks too!) and I post them to my @21andsensory instagram account with 23k followers: https://21andsensory.wordpress.com/my-illustration-portfolio/
-I am the illustrator for ‘The Autistic Friendly Cookbook’ by Lydia Wilkins, which was published on the 21st November 2022 by Jessica Kingsley Publishers. The book encompasses 100 different recipes, some of which have been collated from Autistic individuals from all over the world.
-Takiwatanga Autism Support Services got in touch in with me (in late 2021) to ask if they could use my graphics in their digital book with Essex Family Forum called ‘Supporting your Neurodiverse Child’ which is for parents, written by parents from Send The Right Message alongside professionals from across health, education and social care.
I’ve featured as a guest on these podcasts:
-The I Can’t Stand Podcast by Peta Hooke (March 2022)
-The Autism Podcast by The London Autism Group (December 2021)
-Drop in the Bucket Podcast (September 2021)
-Psychology in the Classroom Podcast (June 2021)
-Autism Journeys Podcast (April 2021)
-Spotlight on FASD Podcast (March 2021)
-1800 Seconds on Autism (BBC / BBC Sounds) (December 2020)
-Thoughty Auti Podcast by Thomas from @aspergersgrowth (January 2020)
-Teaching Autism Podcast with Nikki from @teachingautism (November 2019)
-Chewigem’s Sensory Matters podcast @chewigem (October 2018)
-Metro UK article about The Autism Friendly Cookbook written by Lydia Wilkins (I am mentioned!)
-My London News ‘I didn’t tell the people I work with I am autistic because of how I thought I’d be treated’ (April 2022, World Autism Acceptance Day)
-Journal Magazine ‘Navigating Neurodiversity with 21andsensory’ (April 2022, World Autism Acceptance Day)
The National Autistic Society: Stories from the Spectrum: Emily
-By Jenna Gensic from www.learnfromautistics.com here: ‘Autism Interview #130: Emily on diagnosis and Sensory Processing Disorder’
-By Victoria Ellen (Actually Aspling) on actuallyaspling.wordpress.com here: Interview with 21andSensory!
-By Lydia Wilkins here: ‘The Daily Sensory Things That Are Hard To Handle 21 & Sensory on diagnosis, adaptations and positivity’
All articles linked on my website here: https://21andsensory.wordpress.com/current-projects-pr/
Research:
-Sensory Street co-author of published research paper, University of Oxford “It Is a Big Spider Web of Things”: Sensory Experiences of Autistic Adults in Public Spaces’ Authors: Keren MacLennan, Catherine Woolley, Emily @21andsensory, Brett Heasman, Jess Starns, Becky George, and Catherine Manning (2022)
-Triple A, University of Durham: I was on the Advisory Group for a Durham University project called ‘Triple A’ (which stands for Attention, Arousal and Anxiety) and I was a Panel member on the Triple A ESRC Festival of Social Science Webinar (November 2021)
-Sensory Supermarket Guide, University of Reading: We have been successfully awarded a new grant – the Research England Participatory Research Fund through the University of Reading. This funding will be used to develop an evidence-based, co-produced guide to make supermarkets more accessible for autistic shoppers. The guide will be expertly designed by our team member Emily @21andsensory (in 2023)
Other:
-My illustration portfolio (I use these illustrations in my talks too!) and I post them to my @21andsensory instagram account with 23k followers: https://21andsensory.wordpress.com/my-illustration-portfolio/
-I am the illustrator for ‘The Autistic Friendly Cookbook’ by Lydia Wilkins, which was published on the 21st November 2022 by Jessica Kingsley Publishers. The book encompasses 100 different recipes, some of which have been collated from Autistic individuals from all over the world.
-Takiwatanga Autism Support Services got in touch in with me (in late 2021) to ask if they could use my graphics in their digital book with Essex Family Forum called ‘Supporting your Neurodiverse Child’ which is for parents, written by parents from Send The Right Message alongside professionals from across health, education and social care.
I’ve featured as a guest on these podcasts:
-The I Can’t Stand Podcast by Peta Hooke (March 2022)
-The Autism Podcast by The London Autism Group (December 2021)
-Drop in the Bucket Podcast (September 2021)
-Psychology in the Classroom Podcast (June 2021)
-Autism Journeys Podcast (April 2021)
-Spotlight on FASD Podcast (March 2021)
-1800 Seconds on Autism (BBC / BBC Sounds) (December 2020)
-Thoughty Auti Podcast by Thomas from @aspergersgrowth (January 2020)
-Teaching Autism Podcast with Nikki from @teachingautism (November 2019)
-Chewigem’s Sensory Matters podcast @chewigem (October 2018)
Website: www.21andsensory.wordpress.com
Twitter: @21andsensory
Instagram: @21andsensory
TikTok: @21andsensory
YouTube: @21andsensory
Location: UK
Available for Virtual Sessions: YES
Available for In-Person Sessions: YES
Available to Travel: South East of UK / London are both very accessible for me. Possibly open to travelling to any destination, but only at the expense of the organiser.
Specific Support Required: Structure of event, panel talks, workshop, etc. beforehand with timings is always super helpful.
Speaking Topics Include: Autism; Autistic Masking; Sensory Processing Disorder; Sensory Issues; Sensory research projects; Dyslexia; Dissociation; Depersonalisation; Derealisation; Anxiety; Being a sibling of a brother with FASD.
Suitable Audiences Include: I have experience speaking with children aged seven upwards, university students, medical staff, teachers, academics and researchers.
Speaker Experience: I’ve given talks for:
St Andrew’s University, Disabled Students Network (October 2022): Talk on ‘Accommodating your Sensory Self’ with Q&A with students afterwards.
Autistica Research Festival (July 2022): I presented alongside Dr Keren MacLennan in the ‘Sensory experiences and processing’ session, on the Sensory Street Oxford University project and was on a Q&A session after the presentation.
The South West Clinical Excellence Network (CEN) team in Autism, NHS (April 2022, Virtual) Triple A Project: Panel member on the Triple A ESRC Festival of Social Science Webinar (November 2021)
The Royal College of Psychiatrists (May 2023): I attended the Royal College of Psychiatrists at their London HQ and gave a talk about my front cover design (Issue 20, Summer 2022) at a new exhibition they have launched to celebrate the cover art of their RCPsych Insight magazine. The exhibition, at their London headquarters, is open to members from the start of May.
My Podcast: I run my very own podcast! It’s called 21andsensory Podcast and is mainly me rambling about all things Sensory Processing and Autism related but also I chat to some super lovely neurodivergent people from all walks of life! There’s currently over 70 episodes available to listen to and at the moment I release episodes every month: https://plinkhq.com/i/1271503548?to=page
St Andrew’s University, Disabled Students Network (October 2022): Talk on ‘Accommodating your Sensory Self’ with Q&A with students afterwards.
Autistica Research Festival (July 2022): I presented alongside Dr Keren MacLennan in the ‘Sensory experiences and processing’ session, on the Sensory Street Oxford University project and was on a Q&A session after the presentation.
The South West Clinical Excellence Network (CEN) team in Autism, NHS (April 2022, Virtual) Triple A Project: Panel member on the Triple A ESRC Festival of Social Science Webinar (November 2021)
The Royal College of Psychiatrists (May 2023): I attended the Royal College of Psychiatrists at their London HQ and gave a talk about my front cover design (Issue 20, Summer 2022) at a new exhibition they have launched to celebrate the cover art of their RCPsych Insight magazine. The exhibition, at their London headquarters, is open to members from the start of May.
My Podcast: I run my very own podcast! It’s called 21andsensory Podcast and is mainly me rambling about all things Sensory Processing and Autism related but also I chat to some super lovely neurodivergent people from all walks of life! There’s currently over 70 episodes available to listen to and at the moment I release episodes every month: https://plinkhq.com/i/1271503548?to=page
Presentation Pitch: Example from Autistica Research Festival 2022: Sensory experiences and processing session https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9SR_4CEPTq0
Sensory perceptions, responses and experiences are an integral part of many autistic people’s lives. As such, everyday environments and activities can have a significant or unanticipated impact and may require appropriate adaptions or support. Such experiences and issues will be the focus of this stream, looking also to approaches and programmes aimed at developing more accessible spaces and places.
Sensory perceptions, responses and experiences are an integral part of many autistic people’s lives. As such, everyday environments and activities can have a significant or unanticipated impact and may require appropriate adaptions or support. Such experiences and issues will be the focus of this stream, looking also to approaches and programmes aimed at developing more accessible spaces and places.
Book this Speaker: Via email: [email protected]
