Autism Hampshire team wins Inclusion, Equity and Diversity Award

30th January 2026

Our team of lived experience trainers has been named the winner of the Inclusion, Equity and Diversity Award at the Hampshire Changemakers Awards 2026.

The annual awards recognise individuals and organisations making a positive impact across the county. This year’s event saw hundreds of nominations across multiple categories.

Autism Hampshire’s Oliver McGowan Training Team was recognised for its work delivering Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training Tier 2, a programme designed to improve understanding of autism and learning disabilities among healthcare professionals.

The training is delivered by a team of 4 facilitators and 10 autistic and learning-disabled trainers, who draw on their own lived experience to highlight the barriers autistic people face when accessing health services.

The team also co-produces and updates the training materials, ensuring sessions reflect real-life experiences and current research.

Their approach has been described by participants as ‘transformational’, with healthcare staff reporting immediate changes to how they communicate with and support autistic people.

Katie Board, Autism Hampshire’s Service Manager for External Training, said: “I am really proud of the entire team which was set up from scratch just over a year ago.

“It takes a lot of courage to stand up in front of a room of 30 people and speak. It is even more daunting to be talking about their own personal experiences.

“Their confidence is improving all the time and it has been great to see how they have all developed as professional trainers this year which is down to the great support they get from the facilitators.”

The award recognises the team’s efforts to reduce health inequalities and promote a more inclusive healthcare system.

The event was hosted at Winchester Cathedral and organised in partnership with local media outlets including the Southern Daily Echo and Hampshire Chronicle.

Sarah, one of the lived experience trainers at Autism Hampshire, which is part of Avenues Group, has previously said: “The training opens up difficult but necessary conversations, undoes harmful assumptions, and equips professionals with the confidence to provide person-centred care.”

Autism Hampshire is a local autism and neurodiversity charity delivering quality services across Hampshire, including autism-focused training, supported living services, community groups for autistic adults, a Local Autism Directory, and an Information, Advice and Guidance team.

You can watch one of Autism Hampshire’s trainers, Matt, talk about his experience delivering the Oliver McGowan training here.

Or to find out more about the training, visit our Oliver McGowan Training page.