What happens when you return to the place where you once needed support, this time to teach others?
Sharing My Lived Experience Through Training
On 26th May 2026, I delivered Oliver McGowan Training at a hospital to a range of NHS staff, including nurses and staff from other specialist departments. My contribution focused on my lived experience of being detained in a hospital setting and what could have been done differently to ensure a more equitable experience for autistic patients and people with learning disabilities.
My Experience as an Inpatient
While I was an inpatient at the same hospital, I experienced distress due to the environment. Most nurses would assume I had mental health difficulties without understanding my differences or situation. My Deprivation of Liberty meant I was living under significant restrictions and control. During this time, medication was given to me that would make me drowsy but would not solve the underlying issues causing my distress. I incorporated these experiences into the training and explained how best practice would involve clinical staff reading a patient’s profile and making reasonable adjustments. You cannot medicate autism.
What can happen when distress is treated without understanding what is causing it?
Putting Autistic People at the Centre of Their Support
Having my experiences misunderstood by some medical staff on the ward has given me greater perspective in delivering training and strengthened my belief that autistic people and people with learning disabilities need to be at the centre of designing their own support. This needs to happen in a genuine way, where their voices are not just heard but listened to and acted upon to make a real difference.
Looking Beyond What We See
It’s always vital to look beyond how someone is presenting, as there is usually more communication behind it. I wish more staff had understood autistic presentations more effectively, rather than making assumptions without understanding the person. Being misunderstood in a medical setting is one of the main things that puts fuel in the fire for me to make change. This is why lived experience training is so valuable, as it gives professionals the opportunity to learn from the people whose lives are directly affected by their decisions and practice.
How can lived experience change the way professionals understand the people they support?
A Full-Circle Moment
It felt surreal being back in the same hospital, this time delivering training in front of staff who had known me when I was an inpatient and had seen me in such different circumstances. It felt like a full-circle moment, going from being someone who had been cared for on the ward to standing in front of staff as a trainer, sharing my experiences to bring about change.
From a Shadow of Myself to Making an Impact
Halfway through the presentation, I recognised the face of a nurse who had worked on the ward where I stayed for a year as an inpatient. I felt a sense of pride and empowerment knowing she could see me go from a period where I was stuck there under full restrictions and control to teaching the same team in a professional capacity.
After the training, the nurse approached me to congratulate me on my delivery. She highlighted how far I had come since being cared for on the ward, where I had been a complete shadow of myself, to becoming someone who could make an impact for others. This is the very part of me that I felt had been held back during my time there.
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