Our Outreach Team

David Anthony – Head of Research and Learning

David has worked within the field of special educational needs since 2005 and joined BeyondAutism in 2015. Since then, he has worked in leadership roles in our Schools, Sixth Form and Post-19 service. He has studied at a range of institutions including the Institute of Education; The Central School of Speech & Drama; University of the Arts London; and is continuing his postgraduate studies at Queen’s University Belfast. David has experience of working within a range of schools and services, including primary, secondary, and adult provision. David is passionate about all learners having access to an education that ensures they develop the skills and knowledge to become active citizens in their communities whilst having choice and control over their own lives. With the right support and opportunity, David believes all learners can reach their individual aspirations and outcomes.

Emily Ross – Specialist Vocational Advisor

Emily has worked with children and young adults with SEN in education and the community for a decade. In 2013, while working at a SEN college, she took on a Job Coach role and supported an autistic student during their work placement at a supermarket. Her passion for Supported Employment was born. Since then Emily has gone on to set up Supported Internships at a major London hospital trust and worked for several charities as an Employment Advisor. She has worked alongside companies such as Sodexo, GSK, British Airways, Sainsbury’s and the NHS to facilitate reasonable adjustments at interview stage and in work, so young adults with additional needs have access to meaningful employment.

Matt Wicks, BCBA – Outreach Consultant

Matt has worked with children and young people since 2007, in a variety of settings including mainstream schools, special needs schools and ABA specific special schools. After completing his degree he began work as an ABA Tutor at Ambitious About Autism. 4 years later he left to pursue his career in ABA, studying for a masters in ABA part time while working as a self-employed Behaviour Analyst on ABA home programmes. In 2014 he graduated and began working towards becoming board certified. Matt passed the BCBA exam in February 2017 and has been working for BeyondAutism as an Outreach Consultant since June 2017. He is passionate about disseminating knowledge and understanding of Behaviour Analysis. He lives in North London with his wife, daughter and son.

Hannah Smith, BCBA – Outreach Consultant

Hannah is a Board-Certified Behaviour Analyst (BCBA) and has worked with and supported autistic children and young people and their families for over 10 years. She has worked across a variety of settings including, an ABA school, on early intervention home programmes, SEN & mainstream schools, and most recently worked for a specialist NHS CAMHS team (Children and Adolescent Mental Health Service).

Hannah joined BeyondAutism in January 2022 as the Fast Responder, a pilot service set up in response to the growing number of fixed and permanent exclusions of autistic pupils and challenges faced by schools in supporting pupils at point of crisis. You can find out more about the Fast Responder service here.

Hannah is passionate about preventing placement breakdown, whether that may be at home or within education, and doing so by working collaboratively with the multi-disciplinary team around the child or young person, whilst keeping the views and needs of the individual and their families at the forefront.

Rachael Hlomador, BCBA – Outreach Consultant

Rachael studied Psychology at university, with a special focus on Child Development. In the last year of her degree, she took an ABA module that gave the inspiration for her future career.

She volunteered at Focus – a weekend group for autistic children – as well as at a primary school in Barnes, before joining BeyondAutism Schools in 2017. Rachael found her passion in the field and loves to see her pupils learn and grow to achieve new milestones. She was promoted to ABA Instructor in 2018. Whilst in this role, she undertook her Masters in ABA and in 2020 graduated from Queen’s University Belfast. She became a Behaviour Analyst in 2020 at Park House School. Rachael became a board-certified Behaviour Analyst (BCBA) in December 2021.

In February 2023, Rachael became an Outreach Consultant. She is passionate about sharing her knowledge about behaviour analysis and autism. She believes all autistic children and young adults should be able to access a bespoke educational experience to enable them to develop skills that will have a meaningful impact on their lives.

Charlotte Atkins – Associate Outreach Consultant

Charlotte joined the BeyondAutism team in 2018. She has over 25 years’ experience in the fields of special education and autism. Her roles have included Teacher, Deputy School Director and Consultant, working with individuals (from age two up to age 25) and their families in a range of different settings. This work has involved various elements from home education and transitioning to supported living to staff and parent training and inclusion/intervention programs in mainstream and specialist settings.

Charlotte advocates a person centred, individualised approach to interventions; helping children/young people reach their full potentials and improving day-to-day living for them and their families. She believes that focusing on the development of meaningful, functional skills in motivating contexts is key to promoting overall development.

Furthermore, it is her belief that the success of individuals is greatly dependent on the attitudes, knowledge and skills of those working with them. As well as focusing on the individual’s wishes and needs, Charlotte also plays close attention to the team members involved in the intervention process to ensure they feel valued, capable and confident in their roles.