About us
We create a safe working environment for autistic people and people with disabilities or anxiety, to let them use their talents to create products and services for other autistic people and people with disabilities or anxiety. We provide a new pathway to employment, and hope, for our beneficiaries and their support networks.
Funding from Social Enterprise Support Fund, distributed by the School for Social Entrepreneurs, has helped us to restructure, support staff and expand our business. Thanks to National Lottery players for making this possible.
Who are we?
Dr Steve Bond (He/Him)
Director
Since 2017, Steve has been developing services that help autistic or disabled young people find employment that engages their talents and meets their interests.
He particularly enjoys working with groups of people with very different perspectives and bringing together these different world views into creating a product or service. It was through this process, involving in excess of 20 autistic people, that What’s It Like? and, later, Autek was born.
Arron Gumbrell
Senior Video Producer
Arron is a filmmaker and photographer diagnosed with verbal dyspraxia from a young age. Arron currently runs his own production company, One Way Mirror Films, as well as working with other companies, offering his services.
As someone who suffers from occasional anxiety, Arron is glad to bring first-hand experience of anxiety to his role at Autek and the What’s It Like? application.
Laura Cantliff (She/Her)
Director
Laura is a disability advocate and dance practitioner currently based in Devon. She is also a doctorate student at the University of Plymouth, conducting PhD research that explores creative arts practices for neurodivergent students. As an autistic ADHDer, Laura is dedicated to supporting the disabled community and creating a more accessible and inclusive world. In her spare time Laura enjoys playing her ukulele, eating cake and collecting badges.
Louis Weston (They/Them)
Video Director & Producer
Louis has been a filmmaker since 2008, and is a graduate of Bsc (Hons) Television and Broadcasting from University of Portsmouth, as well as a self-taught video editor, director and producer, with a horrible coffee addiction and an obsession with Doctor Who.
Louis enjoys watching videos and TV, playing video games and Dungeons & Dragons. Louis has a bunch of useless knowledge about TV shows, and pub quiz trivia.
Kieran McGarry (He/They)
Chairperson
Kieran is an actor, director and writer with an MA in Performance Training, at the University of Plymouth.
He is specifically interested in creating performances for disabled actors and hopes to make education and employment a more inclusive place for disabled people, while enabling them to follow their interests and show their skills in creative and interesting ways.