What is it about?

The Bowlby Centre’s annual 28th conference is an opportunity to open up a vital conversation about the complex, under-researched, and often misunderstood relationship between autism and attachment. While traditional models of attachment have focused on neurotypical development, emerging perspectives challenge us to reconsider attachment models with neurodevelopmental complexities in mind. Autistic individuals and families deserve the attention and containment that attachment research and practice have to offer, from a stance of acknowledging and welcoming difference. Chaired by Dr Lisa Greenspan, our international roster of speakers includes Dr Salma Siddique, Dr Ben Grey, Finn Gratton, Ann Hardy, Dr Gilbert Foley and Tal Baz. They will draw from clinical practice, lived experience, and current research to explore how autism intersects with themes of connection, regulation, and emotional development.

Who is this conference for? This conference is open to therapists, educators, researchers, healthcare professionals; attachment and autism theorists and practitioners from a range of disciplines; and anyone seeking a deeper understanding of autism through a relational and attachment-informed lens. We aim to prompt a conversation about how we can better listen, re-engage, offer adaptations, and design environments that reach people of all backgrounds, genders and abilities and highlight the often-overlooked emotional and relational needs of autistic people.

Historical and current systemic barriers to accessing support for autistic people Bowlby emphasized the need for research to be conceived within the context of social structures. We will discuss how the complexity of autism discourse is informed by power structures and privilege, and environmental structures that impact us all.

What does attachment theory have to offer? The conference aims to highlight current research and practice in light of autistic people’s experiences. A strong emphasis is on co-development amidst the neuro-spectrum, to facilitate insight on what can be done to build trust. We will explore the nuanced relationship between early relational experiences and neurodevelopment, asking how early attunement shapes our experience within an environment of shared emotional safety. Whether in infancy, adolescence, or adulthood, a felt sense of safety remains foundational for emotional development.

New perspectives, shared Understanding Our ambition is that this conference will explore how autism and other characteristics intersect with themes of connection, nervous system regulation, and emotional development. Together, we will examine how attachment-informed approaches can help bridge gaps in understanding and care, and how attachment theory can be expanded to reflect neurodiverse experiences and foster deeper understanding.

Speakers: Dr Salma Siddique, Dr Ben Grey, Ann Hardy, Finn Gratton, Dr Gilbert Foley And Tal Baz

Chair: Dr Lisa Greenspan

Date: Saturday 11th October 2025

Cost: Tickets £150 | Bowlby Members and Supervision and Certificate Students £100 | Bowlby ABPP & APL Students Free