A Thanet autism advocate has been shortlisted for three awards this year for her work as a mentor, researcher, trainer and for raising awareness.
Joyce CoomberSewell, from St Peter’s, is the co-owner of CoomberSewell Training CIC with her wife Jane, a company devoted to autism awareness training. Together, they also run CoomberSewell Enterprises LLP, a student support and academic editing company.
For Joyce it is a personal as well as a business venture. Now aged 69, the mother-of-three was finally diagnosed with autism aged 63 despite knowing she was ‘different’ from the age of four.
The diagnosis had been preceded by confirmation Dyslexia in her 40s, and at 58 ADHD and Dyspraxia.
Joyce said: “I come from a family that is 60% autistic. Six of my 11 grandchildren are diagnosed autistic. I wanted to get diagnosed so I could be an example, so they could see that you can be successful.”
Joyce has run businesses and gained higher education qualifications including a Masters by Research and a BA in Counselling, Coaching and Mentoring.
She is currently a PhD student at the University of Brighton, having just completed her second year. She is still looking for biological women over 50 who received a formal diagnosis since turning 50, to take part in her research, asking why it is so hard for older women to receive a diagnosis.
She said: “I’m also a public speaker and tell the story of being undiagnosed and the impact that has.
“Last year we (Joyce and Jane) launched a CIC to do training and what we have discovered is people who work with autistic people who have learning difficulties, they get a lot of opportunities for training but there’s nothing out there for people who work with autistic people who do not also have learning difficulties.
“With older people there is masking, so they might go out with a group of friends and someone tells a joke, everyone laughs and they don’t know why but will laugh anyway.
“Once you get older, you might be in residential care and the ability to mask becomes harder and is often being diagnosed as dementia when it isn’t dementia.”
Joyce and Jane have now created training courses and use a mix on online, social media videos and podcasts and face-to-face sessions. The aim is to explain autism and dispel some of the myths around the condition, including within the workplace where simple solutions can create inclusive work environments.
Joyce’s contribution to championing autistic people and fighting for equity for all people has been recognised at several awards.
She has been a finalist in CCCU’s Community Hero category for this year’s alumni awards, was highly commended in this year’s Kent Mental Wellbeing Awards, in the category Kindness and recently featured in the WOW [Women of the World] Show Brighton, having been nominated as a Local Hero for her work in autism awareness and research.
Joyce was shortlisted for the awards due to her kindness, her sense of community and her championing of autism awareness, especially for those who are autistic without learning difficulties, which she says is “an under-served and misunderstood group.”
The couple, who have been together for 16 years and married for 13, also put their knowledge and passion into practice having provided supported living. Two are university students and one is a care worker. All three have relevant qualifications for their chosen careers and two have now moved on to live independently.
Jane, 50, heads academic services at the business. The Mensa member has applied her teaching experience and qualifications to develop a tailored study skills support provision as well as using her background in local authority and the Civil Service to coordinate use of resources and budget.
To find out more about the services to couple provide go to https://autism.coombersewell.co.uk/
