Nicholas Ryan Purcell, aged thirty two, has one sister Joanna and has ties to Kinsale, as his granny and aunt live in the town. He has produced two documentary films. ‘This Is Nicholas’ documentary film screened in twenty eight Irish cinemas in 2019 and other venues, including Actons Hotel Kinsale which was organised by Kinsale College of Further Education. He has since written a book about his own experiences with Autism, entitled ‘Anything Is Possible – Learning To Live With My Autism’. This is available in Bookstór Kinsale.
Diarmuid Heffernan has worked for 13 years supporting people on the autism spectrum and currently works as an ASD consultant providing training/workshops, as well as both one to one and group support for people with ASD and their families. He is very interested in promoting the creativity of people with autism and has recently co-created Cre-AUT which runs online creativity sessions for autistic people. Diarmuid has co-authored a book Living with Asperger Syndrome and Autism in Ireland and authored the book Sensory Issues for Adults with Autism Spectrum
Disorder published by Jessica Kingsley Publishers. Diarmuid is a lecturer on the Certificate in Autism Spectrum Studies and the Masters in Arts and Engagement in MTU.
