Pete Wharmby — Autistic Author, Speaker and INSET Trainer

About Pete Wharmby

Pete Wharmby is a UK-based autistic and ADHD writer, speaker and trainer, and a former teacher, who helps schools, employers and public bodies see autism from the inside rather than through a checklist of deficits. He was identified as autistic in 2017, at 34, and as ADHD in 2024. The statistics on depression and anxiety among autistic people are what moved him from the classroom into advocacy, and his talks aim at the kind of understanding that changes day-to-day conditions for autistic children and adults.

Schools are a large part of his work, and his teaching background shows in what he covers at INSET: how autistic students and staff experience school, practical adjustments, social time and the curriculum, how ADHD plays out in education, AuDHD, and building a culture where differences are not read as bad behaviour. For employers, sessions look at recruitment and interviews, sensory audits of workspaces, communication styles, monotropism and focus, feedback and rejection sensitivity, and demand avoidance. Sessions can be delivered in person or online as keynotes, training or webinars, with Q&A, and are tailored to the audience. He is fully insured and offers a month of free follow-up support after an engagement. Clients have included government departments, universities, healthcare providers, schools and professional bodies, with audiences in the UK and abroad. Fees are not published; bookings go through him directly or his agents.

With AuSome Training in Ireland he also runs Cothú, a neurodiversity-affirming alternative to EarlyBird and Cygnet designed and delivered by autistic trainers, which certifies professionals to run a five-week course for parents of autistic children and teenagers. His books offer a way into his thinking before booking: What I Want to Talk About (Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2022) on special interests, Untypical (HarperCollins, 2023) on the cost of fitting into a non-autistic world, and Different Minds (Ebury, 2026) on autism and education.

Pete Wharmby at a glance

Who it’s for: Schools, employers, professionals, parents and carers
Conditions: Autism and ADHD
Format: In person and online
Areas served: UK and international

What Pete Wharmby offers

School INSET training
Staff training on autistic students and teachers, adjustments, social time, curriculum, ADHD in education and building an inclusive school culture.
Workplace talks and training
Sessions for employers on recruitment and interviews, sensory audits, communication styles, monotropism, feedback and rejection sensitivity, and demand avoidance.
Keynotes and conference talks
Keynote speeches on autistic and AuDHD experience for conferences, awareness events and internal audiences.
Webinars and online sessions
Online versions of his talks and training, with Q&A, for audiences who cannot meet in person.
Cothú train-the-trainer course
Run with AuSome Training in Ireland, certifying professionals to deliver Cothú, a five-week neurodiversity-affirming course for parents of autistic children and teenagers.
Media interviews
Radio and television interviews on autism and ADHD.

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Writing
Commissioned writing on autism and neurodiversity, alongside his three books.

Questions about Pete Wharmby

What does Pete Wharmby cover in a school INSET session?

Topics include understanding autism, adjustments for autistic students and teachers, social time and the curriculum, ADHD in education, AuDHD and building an inclusive school culture.

Is there any follow-up after booking Pete Wharmby?

Yes. He offers one month of free follow-up support after an engagement, and sessions can be tailored to the organisation.

What is Cothú?

A neurodiversity-affirming alternative to EarlyBird and Cygnet, run by Pete Wharmby with AuSome Training in Ireland, that trains professionals to deliver a five-week course for parents of autistic children and teenagers.

What books has Pete Wharmby written?

What I Want to Talk About (Jessica Kingsley Publishers, 2022), Untypical (HarperCollins, 2023) and Different Minds (Ebury, 2026), on autism and education.