Autistic man wins chance to help others communicate

Thursday 11 May 2017

A 21-year-old who struggled at school because of undiagnosed autism has become the first recipient of a sponsorship award that will give him the skills to help others with similar conditions.

In the three years since being diagnosed with ‘autism spectrum disorder without disability’ at the age of 18, Jonathan Channing has set up his own coding business.

And now he has the opportunity to become the first autistic accredited mediator in the Channel Islands after being selected as the initial recipient of a new sponsorship programme run by Jersey-based national and international mediation specialists the Resolution Centre.

 Mr Channing wants to help create new types of communication and depths of understanding to improve the quality of life for people with autism and with those who share their lives.

He said: “I am really looking forward to learning this new set of skills. It is difficult to describe how frustrating it can be when there seems to be no common way of communicating effectively because people are coming to an issue from differing angles and are unable to see each other’s point of view.”

“I really want to thank the Resolution Centre, the private corporate sponsor and the Association of Jersey Charities for their support.”

Picture: Gary Grimshaw photography

The Resolution Centre’s Clair Cousins said that as a social enterprise the Resolution Centre wanted to make the award to Mr Channing as it particularly values collaboration, diversity and learning.

She said: “People and groups with this sort of diversity consistently outperform others working with a single problem-solving perspective, so we're looking forward to seeing the world through a variety of diverse lenses on this course, including through the eyes of someone with autism.”

Mr Channing will join other Islanders later this month to start the Accredited Mediation Skills course designed to provide participants with the skills required to act as mediators and help others resolve disputes from the front room to the boardroom.

The course is being delivered in conjunction with training and academic partners Queen Margaret University Edinburgh, the Professional Mediators Association and the Institute of Law Jersey.

Liz Le Poidevin, Chairman of the Association of Jersey Charities, commented: “As Jonathan says ‘the world of autism has many areas of potential conflict’. It is great to see that the Resolution Centre understands how Jonathan, as an autistic mediator, will add real value to conflict resolution in this and other areas.”