Meet the team

Sarah

Managing Director & Founder

Sarah is our Managing Director and her commitment to advocating for autistic children is strongly shaped by her dual perspective as both a professional and a parent. She is IPSEA trained and she prioritises providing each child with support tailored to their unique needs and is a passionate advocate for inclusive educational environments.

Sarah’s background in commercial finance enables her to approach strategic planning and resource management with confidence, skills which have been vital in sustaining the work of The Autism Apprentice, particularly in challenging circumstances.

In her capacity as a councillor and cabinet member for Health & Wellbeing, Sarah has contributed to the development of local policies that benefit children and young people. Her work has had an impact on safeguarding, leisure, and budgeting, all with a focus on inclusivity. She continues to champion equitable access to support, education, and employment for all.

Prior to her recent roles, Sarah led the application process to establish a free school for autistic children in Swale. This initiative culminated in the opening of Aspire School in Sittingbourne, an achievement that received formal recognition in the House of Commons.

Carla

Family Support Director

Carla has been part of the team for three years and is very passionate about supporting families and empowering them with knowledge and confidence.  Carla is IPSEA trained and has previously worked as a legal PA and has extensive knowledge of legal documents.  Carla has two children diagnosed autistic and has years of knowledge around EHCPs together with experience of both mainstream and specialist provisions. Carla has experience with ASC, ADHD, severe speech and language disorders, presentation of Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA), Anxiety and Multiple Sclerosis. 

Carla believes in moving forward positively and hopes that by keeping communication open, advocating for others and being compassionate that we will be able to make a difference for young autistic people and their families.

Shauna

Operations & Marketing Director

Shauna is our Operations & Marketing Director with 23 years of experience in sales, marketing, and administration, she brings a wealth of expertise to her role.

She is passionate about supporting families as they navigate the process to ensure their children’s needs are met and that they achieve the best possible outcomes throughout their journey.

Shauna’s personal experience with ADHD and speech disorder gives her insight into the challenges families face in accessing help, support, and early interventions.

Lisa

Appeals & Tribunals Assistant

Lisa is IPSEA trained and has worked previously as a Lead Caseworker for the Medway SENDIAS service supporting families with all aspects of Tribunal appeals, EHCP applications, draft EHCPs being issued and supporting through the working EHCP document during Annual Review meetings and SEN support school meetings.

She also has experience in other roles such as being an Early Years Specialist Inclusion Worker, ADHD support worker, Higher Level Teaching Assistant at a specialist school and Deputy Manager and SENCO at a nursery.

Lisa is extremely passionate about supporting families and providing them with the correct legal information in relation to health and education to enable them to gain the most suitable support for their children and young people. 

She has a wonderful young child who is at the beginning of his own SEN journey and has recently been diagnosed with Autism, Speech & Language Disorder and Sensory Processing Disorder. He certainly keeps her busy but is an absolute trooper with navigating his needs and difficulties. 

Lorraine

Admin Assistant

Lorraine has previously worked in customer service and admin for 27 years and is looking forward to transferring her skills into her new position at The Autism Apprentice.

Lorraine has autistic grandchildren and feels very passionately about supporting families and making them feel less isolated whilst navigating family life, health services and education. 

Grace

Appeals & Tribunal Assistant

Grace is a law graduate who is now studying for a master’s degree in Mental Health Law.

She believes every young person should be given the opportunity to reach their full potential and get the most out of life, being properly supported to achieve this in a way that is right for them so they will have the opportunity to experience and enjoy education in a way that is best suited to them.

As a mum of an autistic daughter, she understands the difficulties that come with accessing support and is extremely passionate about supporting other families to obtain the support they are legally entitled to.

Grace previously volunteered as a legal caseworker for a charity and worked as a Police Community Support Officer.

Phoebe

Social Media Assistant

Phoebe is currently studying for her A Levels and supports The Autism Apprentice with social media content. As someone with two autistic brothers, she is deeply passionate about raising awareness and supporting the autistic community. She also believes very strongly in fairness, respect, and inclusion for everyone.