About Steph Reed - Autism & SEND Specialist | Trainer, Consultant & Advisor

About

Steph Reed

Autism & SEND Specialist | Trainer, Consultant & Advisor

BA (Hons) Special needs and Inclusion & Early Childhood Studies, PGCE

Hi, I’m Steph and I specialise in autism and SEND. I work with schools to understand their autistic and neurodivergent pupils, and build environments where they belong and thrive.

I’m neurodivergent myself and I know what it feels like to be quietly overwhelmed and heavily mask, while appearing to cope ‘just fine’. That lived experience gave me a foundation of knowing how important the resources and approaches to teaching we use are (for example, through primary and secondary I couldn’t follow a story without text or images in front of me) and importantly that there are almost certainly reasons behind a dysregulated or disengaged student. Our job is to dig deeper, with curiosity, patience, and compassion, to understand what that reason is. Not to ‘manage behaviour’, but to meet the needs underneath it.

Through consultancy, training, and my self-paced training programme Autism for Teachers, I’ve supported thousands of educators to deepen their understanding of the students they work with and translate it into real, everyday change in their classrooms. Everything I create is neuro-affirming, evidence-informed, and grounded in both specialist expertise and genuine understanding of what it’s like to be on the other side of the desk.

If you’re a teacher, SENCO, or school leader looking for support that’s practical, specialist-led, and actually makes a difference, you’re in the right place.

My work is grounded in real school leadership and I am a recognised SLE (Specialist Leader in Education). I’ve held roles including Autism Outreach Leader, SENCo and Inclusion Leader, SEMH Lead Teacher and SEMH Assessment Placement Lead, giving me a deep, system-level understanding of how schools support (and sometimes fail) their most complex learners. That perspective shapes everything I do.

Beyond the classroom, I’ve contributed to wider inclusion work including the Inclusion Panel for the Museums of London, creating sensory bags with Transport Museum of London, collaboration with Widgit on training and symbols, and supporting the development of autism education programmes and training in Oman.

I’ve been sharing knowledge and ideas for educators since 2012 with my first teaching blog ‘ASD Teacher’ (the name was changed many years ago to move away from the deficit terminology of ‘disorder’). I also host the Autism, Neurodiversity and Me podcast and lead a Facebook community group of 4.5k+ educators committed to inclusive practice, all focused on practical, real-world support that makes a difference.

Everything I teach is grounded in evidence-informed, child-centred and neuro-affirming practice. I don’t promote one single approach because no framework fits every child. Instead, I help you understand what may help, why it can work, and how to apply it with confidence in your setting. I do not support approaches that aim to “fix” or change a child, only those that support, understand, and empower.

Here's What Senior Leaders Say...

"Steph’s guidance and support has been invaluable to our federation. Her expertise has been instrumental in reviewing and improving the provision for children with SEN. Steph builds excellent relationships with all staff members. Our support staff welcome her visits and relish these as an opportunity to develop their practice. Steph will readily work with children and staff to model expectations and activities that support learners to progress. Steph’s knowledge and expertise has been critical in supporting our SENCOs with their strategic leadership of the role. Her feedback is always clear and actionable and she is supportive of the needs and development of our staff."

"In the time that Steph has been working with my school, I have been able to see a sustained improvement in the provision offered. This has been the case in the growing knowledge and skills of the staff she has worked alongside, the physical environment provided for autistic pupils and the outcomes for those pupils. The excellent provision for pupils with SEND, for which Stephanie’s support was a key element, was also verified by my School Improvement Partner."

"Steph Reed provided me with excellent support in understanding how to support autistic students. Her intricate knowledge of the curriculum and specialisms with students with SEND was invaluable. Her style of support and coaching is tailored and she took time to assess my needs and the schools. I would highly recommend her services."

"Steph’s consultant work with our school has been a valuable tool in steering improvement of our provision for pupils with SEN. She works closely with senior leaders to coordinate our SEN strategy and plans her support based on planning meetings with our SENCo. Steph’s knowledge and expertise has been critical in supporting our teachers with their classroom practice. Her feedback is always clear and actionable and she readily provides resources and strategies to help teachers implement new ideas. She shares her knowledge and expertise with staff in a supportive way. Staff feel confident to try new strategies once they have observed her working with pupils and she takes time to reflect with them on what makes these effective."

"Over the past year, I have worked with Steph in her role as Autism Advisory Teacher for our school. She has supported us in areas such as: setting up an autism resource provision, general observations and recommendations to support individual pupils' needs and wider training for staff. Steph is very organised, knowledgeable and flexible in her approach, to ensure that your bespoke needs as a school are targeted."

"Steph has been a source of knowledge, expertise and compassion for many years in her time as our Autism Specialist Teacher. Steph explores the current offer for a child through meaningful observations and dialogues with staff. She is incredibly patient with all staff, no matter their experience in and competencies in working with autistic children and empowers and upskills both adults/parents and carers to evolve the support around a child."

Featured in

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About

Steph Reed

Autism & SEND Specialist | Trainer, Consultant & Advisor

BA (Hons) Special needs and Inclusion & Early Childhood Studies, PGCE

Leadership

Projects

Community

Approach

Here's What Senior Leaders Say...

Featured in

SEN Magazine - Creating Autism-Inclusive Classrooms

Widgit Software - Using Symbols to Support Autism Teaching