What They Meant vs. What You Heard: A Full-Day Interactive Workshop for Friends & Partners of Autistic People

Workshop Overview

Join us for a full-day, hands-on workshop for friends and partners of autistic people. Building directly on our popular What They Meant vs. What You Heard webinar, this workshop moves from theory into practice. We use real scenarios, guided role-play, and small-group discussion, so you leave with tools you've tried, adapted to your relationships.

We will explore why these misunderstandings happen and the specific ways autistic communication differs, from processing style to tone.

You'll work through real situations and practise communication tools in a room with other people navigating the same thing.

You will leave with a personal communication plan built around your own relationships.

This is a small-group, in-person day. We've learned from experience that real practice needs space and focused attention, so numbers are limited.

Course fees help fund CASPA's subsidised community clubs, where families currently pay only a fraction of the true cost. Booking a place helps keep those clubs accessible for the families who need them most.

Topics Covered

• Understanding neurodivergent communication the double empathy problem, and why this is a two-way gap, not a one-sided deficit

• Autistic communication traits detail-oriented processing, literal-before-implied meaning, and differences in tone and prosody

• The gap between intention and impact real scenarios covering tone, directness, and hyperfocus, worked through as role-play

• The spiral: over-explaining, rumination, and withdrawal after a misunderstanding, and what's happening underneath

• What helps practical repair tools you can use the same day, practised live in the room

• Your communication agreement a personal, take-home plan built around your own relationships

Places are limited to keep groups small enough for genuine practice book early to secure your spot.