General news22nd October 2026
The winners received their awards at a glittering ceremony at Paintworks in Bristol on 20 October 2026.
The Right Honourable Lord Mayor of Bristol, Councillor Yassin Mohamud, attended the ceremony, joining winners, families, supporters, and organisations from across the UK.
At the awards, winners and attendees were also treated to video addresses by actor and comedian Sir Stephen Fry, and musician and advocate Daniel Wakeford.
The Dimensions Leaders’ Awards are nominated, judged, and presented by adults with learning disabilities and autistic people. They celebrate people who are making a positive difference through achievement, leadership, advocacy, and community action.
Twenty individuals and groups received awards across four categories.
Advocacy, policy, and the media
- Caleb White – recognised for becoming the public face of a campaign seeking stronger legal protections and long-term support for young people with complex special educational needs after the age of 19 in Northern Ireland.
- The Unlocking Excellence Group – seven co-researchers whose lived experience is helping an NHS study improve community mental health support for adults with learning disabilities and autistic people.
- Michelle Williams – recognised for more than a decade of self-advocacy in North Wales, including co-chairing the regional learning disability transformation programme and championing relationships, employment, transport, and better support.
- The Involvement Matters Team – a group of East Sussex self-advocates whose work over almost 25 years has influenced health and social care services, hate crime policy, training, and accessible information.
- Charis Hawkley – an autistic advocate who promotes understanding and inclusion through public speaking, podcasts, social media, charity fundraising, and volunteering.
Work and education
- Kate Brackley – a Learning Disability Adviser at BILD who helps ensure people with learning disabilities influence decisions about health inequalities, ageing, employment, and the support they draw on.
- Sofie Day – an autistic HR and inclusion professional whose work helps organisations create psychologically safe workplaces, improve reasonable adjustments, and recognise the contribution of neurodivergent colleagues.
- Kirsty Trimming – a co-researcher with Inclusion North who is helping Lancaster University explore the experiences of adults with learning disabilities and autistic people around relationships, sex, and family life.
- Alexandra Lawrence – recognised for creating a neuro-affirming occupational therapy practice supporting adults with burnout, fatigue, sensory needs, confidence, and self-advocacy.
- Ciara Lawrence – a learning disability advocate who has spent almost 25 years championing co-production, greater representation in senior roles, and policy change, alongside hosting her own podcast.
Sports, arts, and entertainment
- Bradley Davies – recognised for writing, directing, and starring in an inclusive festive film at David Lewis, while ensuring everyone who auditioned received a part and felt supported.
- Sohail Khalifa – a football coach and goalkeeper who founded a football club, earned coaching qualifications, coached children, and secured the club’s first sponsorship.
- Michael “Spike” Brooks – a radio DJ, actor, writer, and event host whose performances, broadcasts, and creative work celebrate autistic experience and support Plymouth’s disabled community.
- Matthew Akpan – a Leeds athlete, volunteer, autism advocate, and Guinness World Records holder who uses running, public speaking, and fundraising to encourage other people to pursue their ambitions.
- Firebird Theatre – a Bristol-based, member-led company of actors with learning disabilities, recognised for its original productions, its Bristol Old Vic takeover, and its work developing The Tempest.
Local communities
- Adam Nichols – recognised for helping South Molton Pannier Market thrive as a community and commercial hub, supporting independent traders, offering free charity pitches, and leading major town events.
- Joe Agg – a long-standing volunteer who has supported a garden centre, the British Heart Foundation, and a local dry cleaner, while also developing a successful role as a community DJ.
- Richard Larcombe – a community volunteer who has carried out weekly checks on a local defibrillator since 2022 and has also joined his town’s litter-picking group.
- The Monkey Park Takeover Team – a Chesterfield group that turned a community café into a welcoming weekly hub, using surplus food to provide lunches, reduce waste, build friendships, and tackle isolation.
- Marc Schutzmann – recognised for completing a sponsored swimming challenge, raising more than £300, and using the money to create a free Christmas grotto for local nursery children.
Ann McCallum Lifetime Achievement Award
Bradley Davies also received the Ann McCallum Lifetime Achievement Award 2026, recognising his creativity, determination, kindness, and commitment to involving others in his work. Named in memory of pioneering self-advocate and campaigner Ann McCallum, the award celebrates leadership that makes a lasting difference to other people’s lives.
The ceremony demonstrated the breadth of leadership among adults with learning disabilities and autistic people, from influencing policy and improving healthcare research to creating theatre, coaching football, supporting local businesses, and bringing communities together.
Entries are open for the next Leaders’ Awards
Do you know a person or group whose leadership, talent, advocacy, or contribution to their community deserves recognition?
Entries are now open for the next Leaders’ Awards. People can enter themselves, nominate another person, or nominate a group.
Submit an entry for the next Leaders’ Awards
