What a wonderful two days at the NOTA Conference here in Belfast. Presentations and workshops that were thought provoking, challenging and reaffirming and interesting discussions with colleagues and new connections. It was great to catch up with international colleagues who I usually only see on video screens, and to hear the wonderful work Renae Pepper is doing in Tasmania. 

Thank you to NOTA National, Stuart Allardyce and Dulce Faure-Walker; Malcolm Muskett and his team and to the NOTA NI team, for all their hard work, particularly Gareth McGibbon; Paul Stephenson and Marcella Leonard MBE for making the conference such as success here in Belfast. Who will ever forget Marcella’s Ceilidh calling…”Advance ..Retire..”

Thank you also to Christina Adamson and Paula Peel, the AIM Administrators who are the beating heart of AIM, for all their hard work in preparing for the conference. I know they enjoyed putting faces to names and meeting new contacts. They were very supportive to me in getting the video demonstration ready on our new development of digitalisation of resources, which will integrate our new Practice Guides on Autism, Learning Disabilities and Technology Sexual Behaviour into AIM3 – I will post more on that later.

My thanks also to my incredible sister in law Miriam O’Callaghan, RTE’s top political presenter for agreeing to chair the opening debate on paedophilia and she did brilliantly! A nice payoff for me was that now Miriam has some idea of what I actually do!

I want to say how proud I am of the AIM Associates who presented key notes and workshops throughout the conference, either on their work with AIM or with regard to their own independent practice. To have the breadth and depth of experience and current practice knowledge in our organisation and the impact they have had and continue to have on practice, is incredible. To be the Director of AIM and to work with and be challenged by these people has been an honour.