Sean Hurley first developed the idea for Perspectives 100 after 12 years as a policy adviser at The Department for Education.  During his time at the Department, Sean's two sons had both been diagnosed with autism spectrum conditions very distinct from eachother and through research and experience of the support he and his wife had to give them, he very quickly realised that he too is on the spectrum.  Many of the frustrations and difficulties his sons and indeed his family were facing every day absolutely reflected his own youth and early adulthood.  

 

Sean wanted to take a different approach to autism training and awareness as he felt most of what existed whilst useful, struggled to identify the individuality of how autism affects each person and he felt the focus was always on the negative side of autism when in fact there are some amazing stories to tell.  Also key to development of the programme was to include those who lived with and cared for those with spectrum conditions every day.  Nobody can truly explain what autism is like to live with better than those who do live with it.

 

"I recognised that autism affects everyone on the spectrum differently despite the "common threads" that are so insistent in the literature (both professional and otherwise) around autism.  If I was going to develop a system that would demonstrate this clearly and give organisations what they actually needed to know then my services had to be equally individually tailored to my clients.  A receptionist at a leisure centre will need to know how difficult it can be for some on the spectrum to wait in line, a police officer on the other hand will need to know why someone on the spectrum may seem to be unable to keep still and or not making eye contact for example.  Of course the more we all know the better we will all understand but, the point is if we relate what is being taught about autism to the everyday experience of the learner, then the learner understands why it is important that they are informed." - Sean Hurley