Autism awareness is
pointless. What is needed
is autism understanding.
Hello. I’m Richard.
My experience has taught me that between us we have the answers to learning the autism skills and knowledge to benefit everyone. Just ask.
Working together we can provide individual solutions to challenges arising from autism that will make a difference to everyone.
what we do
ask richard works from a starting point of expecting success. However how hard a situation might seem if you start positive, surprising results happen.
Autistic people can succeed and achieve whatever they want. Our job is to help them develop skills, strategies and confidence.
ask richard can:
help you unlock untapped potential
work directly with autistic people
work with organisations who support autistic people
work with families
work statutory agencies
work directly with employers
ask richard has developed and uses a range of resources including assessements, profiles and questionnaires to help understand the person, their needs and ambitions.
The difference between success and failure can be very small and ask richard will help find and make those changes whatever the setting.
Not sure if ask richard can help? Just ask.
who is richard?
Richard Ibbotson has spent over 25 years developing and leading services for autistic people. Much of this at Director level. He knows the real situations faced by autistic people and those who support them.
Richard has managed many successful services from in-depth complex services to light touch advice and visiting support.
This includes support where people live as well as what people do. He passionately believes in everyone having worthwhile, occupationally active lives.
His commitment to autism goes beyond work experience. As a Chair of Trustees he has also lead the development of 2 small organisations that exist to fill specific gaps for autistic people:
IWORK4ME promotes and supports self-employment for autistic adults.
CoSPPA is a national network for senior autism professionals.
“Autism has always both fascinated and frustrated me. I love the challenge to use my brain differently; to understand the world from the autistic person’s perspective. I think it’s the creativity this needs that that appeals. The frustration comes from seeing untapped potential being wasted. This makes me even more interested and determined.”
Richard Ibbotson
what they say
I have known and worked with Richard for over 25 years. There are few people with a comparable range and depth of experience and knowledge. He would be at the forefront of those people I would look to for any information whether the enquiry is about school age children and their families, staffing or national resources and organisations.
He is a professional of many interests and enthusiasms and would be amongst the first colleagues I would seek out to ask those questions that are not being answered, or discussed, elsewhere. As well as being knowledgeable, he is an innovative and creative thinker with the ability to enable others to challenge and rethink their understanding of a wide range of issues and concepts. I have appreciated the many discussions I have had with him over the years. These have certainly informed and influenced my thinking.
He is a professional of total integrity and one with genuine compassion for the people with whom he works.
I commend his work and this new venture.
Jim Taylor, Jim Taylor: Knows Autism
I have known Richard for over 30 years, his dedication, knowledge & experience in autism is phenomenal.
As a fellow professional, I believe the advice, information and passion he exudes has assisted so many people.
He is a very inspirational open-minded person, who is approachable, committed for peoples rights and has a brilliant personality.
Gwenne Coltman, Director and Senior Manager of Autism Services (Retired), Nominee for Lifetime Award for services to Autism
Richard has a long and distinguished career dealing with the world of Autism and I had the great pleasure to work alongside him as a National Director with Autism Initiatives.
In that time I found Richard to be an inspirational and innovative leader. His experience and dedication for creative planning leading to sustainable project management has long been his trademark for success. His understanding and commitment stem from his strong desire to simply make the lives of people with Autism better. He has over the years been a strong advocate and lobbyist for Autism and this is evident in the many projects he has created, implemented and managed. It has been an honour and privilege for me to work alongside Richard.
John Campbell MBACP, National Director (Retired) Ireland Autism Initiatives
We were looking for a specialist to deliver neurodiversity awareness-raising sessions for one of our clients and I was delighted to be connected to Ask Richard. Richard has a real passion for his subject area and was able to practically apply his knowledge and experience to workplace situations. Feedback from delegates was extremely positive and I personally learned a lot during the development process. I would highly recommend Richard for these types of sessions.
Nuala Boyle, Head of Business Growth, Ayrshire College