I have exciting news – I’ve been appointed as Project Manager – Learning Disability and Autism at Kent and Medway NHS Partnership Trust!
A Journey I Never Could Have Imagined
As I sit here writing this, I keep thinking about the young person I used to be. The (unknowingly) Autistic child who was told they weren’t capable of further education at age 16. The child who experienced adversity and trauma, who was fostered from the age of two as both parents experienced psychosis, who internalised hurtful terms like “cold”, “unapproachable”, and “intimidating”. That young person could never have imagined this moment.
Chloe as a young child, sucking their thumb with a strip of satin.
There’s something overwhelming (in a good way and bittersweet way) about going from being dismissed by educational systems to now being asked to lead transformation programmes within the NHS. From being told “no, you can’t” to being trusted with “yes, you can” for thousands of others.
What This Role Actually Means
So, what will I actually be doing? In simple terms, I’ll be leading Kent and Medway NHS Partnership Trust’s efforts to transform how they support Autistic people, those with learning disabilities/needs, and Polyennic (ADHD) people.
The role involves:
Programme Leadership: I’ll be overseeing the transformation programme across the organisation, making sure all the different projects work together effectively and that we’re actually making a difference for the people who need support.
Training and Development: Working to ensure that every single member of NHS staff in Kent and Medway knows how to properly support neurodivergent individuals and their families – not just during diagnosis, but through crisis situations and ongoing care needs.
Working with Experts: Collaborating closely with clinical experts AND neurodivergent experts to design and deliver meaningful change.
Creating New Pathways: Developing access to new local treatments, support options, and care pathways that meet people’s needs rather than expecting people to fit into existing systems.
Policy and Strategy: Leading on the development of policies and procedures that will guide how major change programmes are implemented across the trust.
Making It Real: Ensuring that all this work translates into genuine improvements in people’s lives – better crisis support, more appropriate ongoing care, and systems that work for neurodivergent individuals and their families.
Dr Chloe Farahar, a white person with short-cropped dark hair, large round glasses, smiling at the camera. Behind Chloe is a teaching hospital ward.
Why This Matters So Much
This isn’t just another job for me – it’s deeply personal. I know what it feels like to be misunderstood by systems that are supposed to help. I understand the frustration of encountering professionals who mean well but lack the knowledge to provide appropriate support. I’ve experienced firsthand how devastating it can be when the very systems designed to support you end up causing more harm.
But I also know the transformative power of having people in positions of influence who truly “get it” – who understand not just the theory but the lived reality of being neurodivergent in a world that wasn’t designed for us, and I love bringing these people along with us, even when they first feel hopeless that change can even happen.
From Pain to Purpose
Every difficult experience, every time I was told I wasn’t good enough or capable, every barrier I encountered – they were part of my fight that led me to this moment where I can use those experiences to help create better systems for and, importantly, with others.
The work ahead isn’t just about project management or programme delivery (though those skills are crucial). It’s about fundamentally changing how one of the largest NHS trusts in the country understands and supports neurodivergent people. It’s about ensuring that future generations won’t face the same barriers and misunderstandings that so many of us have experienced, and it’s about doing it with care and sensitivity so that I can bring the amazing and hard-working staff along on this journey.
Looking Forward
I’m under no illusions that this will be easy work. Transforming established systems, changing deeply ingrained practices, and ensuring that the voices of neurodivergent people are truly centred in this work will be challenging. But I’m excited about the opportunity to make a real, tangible difference in people’s lives.
To everyone who has supported me on this journey – from the tutors who believed in me when I didn’t believe in myself (Andy McCarthy, look where I am now!), to the Autistic community that helped me understand who I truly am, to the colleagues and advocates who’ve shared their knowledge and experience – thank you. None of this would be possible without the collective wisdom and support of so many people.
To my fiancé, Stephen, who has helped me manage everything as a disabled person so that I can focus on meaningful work and project opportunities, we can plan our wedding now!
And to my Gramps, who never made me feel like a broken human, who I wish were here to see how far I’ve come.
Chloe and her Gramps, Terence, at Chloe’s BSc graduation, 2014
And to any neurodivergent Kent and Medway citizens: please know that your experiences, your perspectives, and your voice matter, and I will be working to hear you.
Here’s to turning exclusion into inclusion, one transformation programme at a time.
I’ll be sharing more about this work as it develops, including insights into how large-scale healthcare transformation actually happens and what it takes to centre lived experience in institutional change. If you’re interested in following this journey, please do stay connected.
What Autistic People Say About NHS and Council Services
Parliament Asked. We Answered.
Dr Chloe Farahar of Aucademy CIC was invited as one of three Autistic experts to a private, closed meeting with the House of Lords Committee on the Autism Act 2009. The committee asked experts to share their views on how the Autism Act 2009 and national autism strategy have worked in practice, what hasn’t been effective, and what the government should prioritise next.
As this was a private committee session, the findings below reflect general themes discussed during the meeting and are not attributed to any individual participant. Here are the key points raised:
The Current Picture
Whilst some excellent services exist, there’s still a “postcode lottery” of support. Many NHS and council staff lack practical training on working with Autistic people, and when training is available, uptake can be limited by time and resource constraints.
Barriers to Good Care
Participants highlighted several ongoing challenges:
Long diagnostic waiting times (the NICE guideline of 13 weeks has never been consistently achieved)
Emergency services that don’t make adjustments for Autistic people’s needs
Professionals sometimes dismissing Autistic people’s understanding of their own bodies and needs
Particular barriers for Autistic people from ethnic minority backgrounds and LGBTQ+ communities
The Involvement Gap
Too often, decisions are made “about” rather than “with” Autistic people. Families report fighting for promised support that doesn’t materialise, and services don’t always listen when placements or treatments aren’t working.
However, there are positive examples where Autistic people have genuine power in service design and delivery, leading to better outcomes for everyone.
What Needs to Change
Experts called for:
Early support rather than crisis response
Needs-led support that doesn’t require a diagnosis
Real decision-making roles for Autistic people in permanent positions
Better training that goes beyond basic awareness to practical skills
Accountability for organisations that engage in tokenistic consultation
The Bottom Line
The Autism Act has raised awareness of duties to Autistic people, but implementation remains patchy. With some people spending decades in inappropriate hospital settings, and many struggling to access basic support, there’s an urgent need for properly funded, Autistic-led service transformation.
The Committee’s final recommendations could be crucial in shaping the next phase of autism policy beyond 2026.
Based on consultation with Autistic experts by experience, and experts with a learning disability/need facilitated by NDTi, May 2025
“If the only thing you remember from me speaking today, is that Autistic experience is…oooh shiny thing! [picks something up from the conference floor]… there’s these weird shiny things on the floor, and they’ve been distracting me…what was I saying?”
GIF of Chloe being amusing/distracted!
This is what it can be like as a neurodivergent academic and trainer: distracted mid-sentence by shiny things on the conference floor! Luckily, it got a good laugh from the packed room of educators from across Kent and Medway, and I demonstrated that even adult neurodivergent people still get easily distracted!
But perhaps that’s exactly the point. In a room full of teaching professionals learning about neurodivergent pupils, what better way to illustrate authentic Autistic experience than by being authentically Autistic? The laughter wasn’t mocking – it was recognition, understanding, and a moment of genuine connection that no amount of PowerPoint slides could have achieved.
This happened at the July 2025 Autism Education Trust Kent: Mind & Body Conference in Maidstone, where I (Chloe), Ben, and Jessica from Aucademy CIC were invited to speak on topics related to the trust’s theme of Mind and Body: The experience of the neurodivergent pupil.
The Power of Neurodivergent Voices in Professional Spaces
There’s something uniquely powerful about neurodivergent people speaking to professionals about neurodivergent experiences. It’s not just about representation – though that matters enormously. It’s about the authenticity that comes from lived experience, the insights that can only emerge from having navigated the world with a neurotype that doesn’t match societal expectations.
As we sat at our speakers’ table near the front, largely all neurodivergent, I was struck by how different this felt from traditional academic conferences. We weren’t performing neurotypicality for the comfort of our audience. We were being ourselves – stimming, getting distracted, needing movement breaks, using our authentic communication styles – and in doing so, we were modelling what it actually looks like to be neurodivergent in professional spaces.
Autistic well-being: What works? – Dr Chloe Farahar
I spoke about the mental health, Autistic, and trauma needs Autistic pupils may be likely to experience, and importantly, the things that are most likely to improve our well-being, namely support to foster a positive Autistic identity, culture, community, and space.
Dr Chloe Farahar’s session outline
My Session Outline:
Working definition of Autistic.
What well-being concerns do Autistic people have?
Why do typical therapies, e.g., CBT, not always work?
Challenges of using typical therapies, e.g., CBT, to improve Autistic wellbeing
Therapists and their challenging behaviours.
Adapting CBT – does it work? Limitations of therapies and studies
Neurodivergence in context – it’s relation to ACEs/trauma
Adaptations needed for neurodivergent people who have experienced ACEs/trauma
Importance of Autistic identity, culture, community, and spaces for wellbeing
Autistic profile building and boundary setting
Chloe presenting on Autistic well-being for young people in schools
Standing there, speaking to educators about why conventional approaches often fail Autistic young people, I found myself drawing on years of research but also decades of lived experience. The data tells us that Autistic people have significantly higher rates of mental health difficulties, but the lived experience tells us why: it’s not our “autism” that’s the problem, it’s a world that consistently tells us we’re wrong, broken, or need fixing.
While lots of Autistic people struggle with mental health concerns following adversity/ies, there’s evidence that our lives can be better when we are supported to foster a positive Autistic identity, culture, community, and space
While lots of Autistic people struggle with mental health concerns following adversity/ies, there’s evidence that our lives can be better when we are supported to foster a positive Autistic identity, culture, community, and space. This isn’t just academic theory – it’s what we see happening in real time when schools and families shift from trying to make Autistic young people appear less Autistic to supporting them to understand and embrace their neurotype.
The room was engaged, asking thoughtful questions about how to implement these approaches in their settings. But more than that, they were listening – really listening – to what we were saying about the importance of accepting and celebrating neurodivergent ways of being rather than trying to eliminate them.
Some feedback from AET attendees about what they took from Chloe’s session, what they will do differently, what they might want next, and their roles.
A World for Difference – Emma Kluibenschadl
We loved meeting Emma of STAK.life CIC (Stefan’s Acts of Kindness). We shared a speaker’s table near the front, and were largely all neurodivergent. It was a joy to be around other neurodivergent people, educating a room full of engaged education professionals from across Kent and Medway for the Autism Education Trust’s yearly conference.
Emma spoke about the amazing work that STAK.life CIC have been doing to make “A World for Difference” following the passing of their wonderful Autistic teenage son Stefan. Emma’s presentation was deeply moving, but also practically focused – showing how tragedy can be transformed into meaningful action that changes systems and saves lives.
There’s something profound about sitting alongside other neurodivergent speakers, each of us bringing our own experiences and expertise to the same goal: helping educators better understand and support neurodivergent young people. Emma’s work reminded us all why this matters so much – because every young person deserves to feel valued and supported for who they are, not punished for how their brain works.
Situational mutism, and the persistent drive for autonomy: Thinking about anxiety – Ben Usher-Barrass
Aucademy CIC are very proud of our Ben of Autisticality, who presented in person, with support from Jessica Chudasama-Alloway, for the first time on his experiences of situational mutism. Ben prepared an AI-cloned voice and slide show of his experience of anxiety-driven situational mutism, starting by introducing himself and slides with mouth words.
Ben presenting on situational mutism
Watching Ben navigate his presentation was a masterclass in accommodation and self-advocacy. He knew his limits, planned accordingly, and used technology to ensure his message could be heard even when his voice wasn’t available. This wasn’t a compromise or a lesser version of presenting – it was innovative and thoughtful, and ultimately more accessible.
When he came to sit back at our neurodivergent speakers’ table, he was visibly shaking from exposure anxiety and using his voice, but he was pleased that he did the presentation. The courage it took to share such personal experiences with a room full of strangers, especially when communication itself is a source of anxiety, cannot be overstated.
An attendee spoke through tears about how important it was for her to hear his experiences, as it helped her understand her young person better. This is the power of authentic neurodivergent voices in educational spaces – they create bridges of understanding that no amount of theoretical knowledge can match.
The PDA Experience – Jessica Chudasama-Alloway
Jessica spoke about their experience of PDA (Persistent Drive for Autonomy), bringing yet another dimension to our understanding of neurodivergent experiences. The diversity of our panel wasn’t accidental – it reflected the reality that neurodivergence isn’t a monolith, and that each neurodivergent person brings their own unique combination of traits, strengths, and support needs.
Jessica Chudasama-Alloway spoke about their experience of PDA
Jessica’s insights about the drive for autonomy and how it manifests in educational settings provided educators with practical strategies for supporting PDA pupils. But more than that, they offered a window into the internal experience of someone whose nervous system is constantly scanning for threats to their autonomy.
The Ripple Effect of Authentic Representation
What struck me most about this conference was how much the educators were interested in our authentic neurodivergent perspectives. They weren’t just politely listening – they were actively engaging, asking follow-up questions, and seeking ways to implement what they were learning in their own settings.
There’s something powerful about a room full of teaching professionals seeing neurodivergent people as experts in our own experiences rather than subjects to be studied or problems to be solved. It shifts the entire dynamic from “how do we manage these difficult behaviours?” to “how do we create environments where neurodivergent young people can thrive?”
Building on Success
Aucademy CIC have talked at two conferences now for Autism Education Trust, once in 2024 with Graysen and Chloe, talking about the diversity of Autistic experience, gender, and sexuality, and now Ben and Jessica on anxiety, mutism, and persistent drives for autonomy, and Chloe on Autistic well-being and what works.
Graysen and Chloe at the AET conference, Summer 2024
Each conference builds on the last, creating a growing network of educators who understand that neurodivergent young people don’t need to be fixed or cured – they need to be understood, supported, and celebrated. We appreciate the very neuro-affirming approach of the Trust, and hope to work with them again in the future.
The Unconventional Continues
As I picked up that shiny thing from the conference floor, I wasn’t just getting distracted – I was demonstrating that neurodivergent brains work differently, and that’s not a bug, it’s a feature. Our attention might be captured by unexpected things, but that same capacity for noticing details and making unexpected connections is what makes us valuable contributors to any team or classroom.
Educators left with new understanding, new strategies, and perhaps most importantly, new perspectives on what it means to be neurodivergent in educational settings.
And maybe that’s what unconventional academic and training work looks like – not following predetermined scripts, not pretending to be someone we’re not, but showing up authentically and trusting that our genuine selves have something valuable to offer.
After all, if we want educators to accept and celebrate neurodivergent young people, perhaps we need to start by accepting and celebrating neurodivergent educators and trainers too.
What Autism Education Trust Kent: Mind & Body Conference attendees had to say about Aucademy speakers’ sessions:
✨ Takeaways
Most feedback centred on stimming, identity, and new communication methods.
Over 60% of respondents are SENCOs, highlighting a need for whole-staff CPD on these themes.
Next step: design engaging CPD modules – complete with student voices, role-plays, and resource toolkits – to embed these insights in daily practice.
What three things have you learnt from your session?
What, if anything, do you hope to do differently now that you have completed this training? How will your role benefit from the training?
Any comments, observations, suggestions you would like to leave for Aucademy? Including any additional sessions you would find useful?
Autistic experience, learn their profile
Listen more attentively
Excellent!
Different viewpoint, adapting environment, link of trauma
Create links between older and younger neurodivergent students
What’s important for autistic
Improved tutorial programme in our SRP
Thank you
Validate feelings, different forms of anxiety, what happened to you this week rather than how do you feel?
Develop staff understanding and adapt my own practice in the classroom.
Diff sensory experiences, CBT not helpful for autistic people, stimming
Consider what we can change for wellbeing
Trauma based training needed. Don’t stop stims. Collaborative opportunities for autistic students
Don’t stop stims
Trauma training
Affirming what i believe in
Support my work as a play therapist
Loved it x
Deeper knowledge of stimming, greater work on boundaries, and “What happened to you this week.”
Genuinely, nothing!
I can’t wait to steal you both to speak at my school!
Language we use, making autistic safe spaces, challenging staff to have a greater understanding
Take things back to a whole staff CPD
Loved the training thank you. I would like to read the chapter from your book
About finding a different way to communicate Boundary setting Difference between stim and harm
Plan for different communication methods
Masking and stimming
Neurodivergent burn out vs depression, that processing of sensory environment is why people react differently. We treat autism by teaching how to be autistic -!: Everybody’s weird, you just have to find your group of weird.
N/A
New terminology, how CBT doesn’t always work, helping people with ASC to share experiences with similar people
more talking and encouragement to be themselves
Possibly come and help some of our students
Importance of autism identity, seeing stems as soothing and supportive, teach how to be autistic
I would like to adapt my practice to fully focus on identity and celebrating all amazing autistic abilities
It was fantastic
Listen to young people experience trying to fit in Neurotypical world. Be Curious Is it well – being or distress?
Understanding of YP experiences … not the same as mine.
More more more
Hyperphantasia, aphantasia, processing is the difference
Feedback to school
I loved the research element and young voices who were shared
I work in a SEN provision and I’d like to focus more on a pupil voice and young voice. I’d also like to focus on stimming and making sure that other adults allow them too
I would like to receive training in school. I would like to share information with my secondary school boys who i work closely with who are autistic.
1) masking is the quiet under the radar child… And also, the clown. 2) autistic Vs mental health 3) alternative way to ask ‘how are you feeling’ – I struggle with this question and enjoyed hearing alternative suggestion
Move out of education and into supporting young people in a different way.
I’d welcome more training, more opportunities to learn and will watch the setting boundaries video.
Learn autistic profiles (either as an adult trying to support or as an autistic person about themselves) Identity is very important – knowing yourself and also knowing others that have similar experiences I found the clarification very helpful that sensory “difference” underpins the observed “differences” linked to being autistic
Find a way to help students to learn their autistic profiles in a large secondary school
Dr Chloe Farahar’s authentic advocacy of the autistic experience was both powerful and extremely informative to a non-autistic person.
1) How I can reword things better to make someone feel more comfortable 2) How exhausting masking is and what that would look like for a pupil 3) collecting more of pupils voice and how I can do that
As a very new to role (Pupil Support Manager) I want to be able to challenge and work with staff to better support the children in our care. And let them know it’s ok if they are not feeling like talking today or working today it’s about forming the connections/relationship with the pupil and the way we do things now that will progress dynamics in the future.
Absolutely amazing content, I can only imagine how hard and demanding it is on all of you to provide us with such informative training and realist views. It was very inspiring thank you
📚 AUDHD Art Book Project – Peer Reviewers Needed! 📚
Artist Emily June Smith is seeking participants for a one-off focus group to review an early draft of their collaborative book about growing up Autistic/AUDHD.
What we’re looking for:
• Mix of people with and without lived experience of autism/ADHD
• Diverse backgrounds, ages, and genders welcome
• One recorded session to discuss the draft book
About the project: The book combines personal stories with educational content about neurodivergent experiences, including collaboration with non-verbal Autistic contributor Murray Bruce.
Why take part: Help shape an authentic resource that reflects the broad spectrum of Autistic and ADHD experiences.
Interested or know someone who might be? Please get in touch!
“Your vibe isn’t of someone who works on Excel spreadsheets all the time.”
This was said to me by a friendly post-graduate student at the last academic conference of the Oxford-led ATTUNE project, on a sweltering day in London at the end of June 2025. A project where for five years, a large group of academics across the UK have worked with and for young people to explore their experiences of childhood adversity and mental health via creative arts.
Dr Chloe Farahar speaking at the ATTUNE conference in June 2025. Chloe on the train to London with disability assistant & partner, Stephen. Close-up of Chloe’s makeup that day.
At this conference, I spoke alongside fellow academics about what we found during the art workshops with young people of all sorts of backgrounds, from the youngest 12-year-olds up to 24-year-olds. I followed established academic Professor Nicola Shaughnessy – Nicki, and my boss to me – after she spoke about the importance of the arts as not merely art, but an integral and important form of “data” and science in itself.
Then it was my turn to speak to a few slides about the “dry” Excel spreadsheet that was the sum of years of work on framework analysis – a qualitative method that none of us had used before. This method allowed us to collect our young participants’ voices in a huge spreadsheet that could be “mapped” with any questions we had: “what did our young participants think constitutes adversity?” and “what experiences or factors that happen after adversity change whether young people have good or bad mental health later?”
As I stood there, I realised our carefully planned talk hadn’t gone to script. Nicki hadn’t spoken about her project journey – something she’d told us to think about, and which I had decided I would just “wing” on the day, with no notes ahead of time.
So, I joked to the crowd about how my notes weren’t needed, dumped my notebook on the table, and focused on holding the microphone whilst moving through the slides. Except, now my journey was on my mind, and I’d just mentioned it to the room, so I might as well talk to it first – sticking to the plan I’d had in my head…
Dr Sylvan Baker, the engaging keynote before our talk, had spoken of conventional academics working on young people and the power disparity in research with participants. As I listened, I must have looked disinterested or bored, scribbling notes in my notebook (which I’d remembered to bring for a change), I was thinking about my post-doctoral journey and how I was an unconventional academic in nearly all senses.
And so, as I stood there letting the audience of academics, students, schools, organisations, parents, and young people know that I was now going to speak to the “dry” data and Excel sheets (waits for laughs and titters), I thought about those notes anyway.
What unconventional looks like
I told everyone in that room how, listening to Dr Baker talk about conventional academics, I reflected on how I was an unconventional academic on an unconventional project. How this project had felt far more interdisciplinary than I imagine most projects that call themselves such – having as we did people from psychiatry, arts practitioners, and oddball neurodivergent social psychologists who have no idea where they fit in the world, let alone academia 👀.
I told that room that I am an unconventional academic because I am a psychologist who wrote a terrible play that I used for my PhD. I know it’s terrible because I don’t come from an arts background, and when my dear mentor Professor Shaughnessy read my play, she had lots of critique for it and its terribleness (loud laughter from the room, and a mortified Nicki).
I am an unconventional academic because I am innately neurodivergent.
I am innately combative and challenging for others to work with.
I have experienced childhood adversity myself, and I struggled at times to hear from the amazing young people on the project re-telling their adverse experiences.
I have pushed and been pushed by the nature of the project – but never by the amazing young people I met.
These weren’t just personal characteristics I was listing – they were the very qualities that shaped how I approached this research. My lived experience meant I could sit with young people’s difficult stories in ways that felt authentic to them. My neurodivergence brought different ways of seeing patterns in the data. My combativeness meant I pushed back when traditional methods felt at odds with what we were trying to do.
The spreadsheets that aren’t dry
Then I spoke about the Excel spreadsheets and how they’re not dry at all – they are the voices and quotes of 74 young people with whom I did art with and who trusted me to be interviewed about their difficult life experiences. Each cell contained a fragment of someone’s story, their insight, their raw and real adversity, and strength and vulnerability.
It was back to Nicki then, to talk about how art and typical data collection methods create a “third space” – where art and science come together to create something far more than one method alone could achieve.
In the breaks throughout the day, something unusual happened. A number of students and established academics came to speak to me – something that doesn’t happen often, probably due to my Autistic neutral face that tells people “don’t approach me, I’m intimidating”.
They wanted to know more: to speak about the work we’d done and how I’d managed as a disabled person; advice on how to work with Autistic children; and could I come speak to Cambridge University in September, exactly how I’d done today – “humour and jokes and all”.
“What, even though Autistic people ‘aren’t supposed to have a sense of humour?!'”. Both laugh.
One PhD student wanted to know how we’d approached such difficult topics with our young participants without being too direct – I will send them our interview prompts for inspiration.
What comes next, uncertainty
I have no idea whether my hopes and plans for my next steps will happen, not least because I am struggling daily with extreme fatigue and worrying about pain from early-onset osteoarthritis. I have plans, but my body often has its own ideas about what we’re capable of. I even write this two days after the conference, absolutely exhausted from one day travelling to and from London to attend.
But perhaps that’s what unconventional academic life looks like – not following predetermined career paths, not fitting neatly into disciplinary boxes, not pretending that our whole selves don’t show up in our work.
Maybe the next chapter involves more conferences where I dump my notes dramatically and speak from the heart. Maybe it means finding new ways to bridge the gap between lived experience and academic knowledge. Maybe it means continuing to challenge what we think research should look like, sound like, feel like.
And so, I don’t have a vibe that tells you much about who I am, or what I am capable of. I have ideas, I have plans, and I will have to see what unconventional means of doing them I can push to happen – one unconventional day at a time.
But I’m beginning to think that’s exactly the kind of academic the world needs more of.
Beige background with a large rainbow infinity symbol. In each half is a child. Left is white child in a red dress with long brunette hair, they are holding a magnifying glass to one eye. Right is a brown child who is shrugging, their head surrounded by question marks. Text reads: Neurodiversity what's that? An introduction to neurodiversity for kids. (Illustration by Victor Brave)
Written by Nadine Arthur, Neurodiversity! What’s That? is a fun, neurodiversity-affirming, educational book for children aged 8 plus.
Nadine Arthur is an Autistic parent and full time carer of her Autistic ADHD son. She grew tired of professionals telling her about her son’s numerous disorders and searched for children’s books which explained neurodiversity. After an unsuccessful search Nadine decided to write her own!
Through Neurodiversity! what’s that? Nadine introduces children to the neurodiversity paradigm (the idea that being neurodivergent is neutral but that many of us still need accommodations). The book promotes self-esteem and confidence for Autistic and otherwise neurodivergent children (including those who have dyslexia, irlens syndrome, dyscalculia and PDA).
Nadine takes difficult concepts and keywords used within the neurodiversity movement and makes them easily digestible for younger readers. One of my favourite pages was one in which the words disorder, syndrome, impairment and deficit are being thrown into different rubbish bins. The book is full of neurodiversity-affirming words and phrases including ‘there is no wrong type of brain’ and ‘differences need to be respected, accepted and celebrated.’
There is a glossary at the back for more advanced learners, and, despite talking about an overall preference for identity first language, there is a caveat that you should always ask people how they describe themselves.
Neurodiversity! What’s that? is full of positive messages which are useful for neurodivergent children and those they read with. The book allows children to understand themselves and others and how the world can only exist with different people and different neurologies. A must have for younger kids, neurodivergent and neuro-normative alike.
Abstract/ summary: Clinical impressions suggest a significant overlap of Autistic and transgender / non-binary identities. Most of this work focuses on prevalence rates and the perspectives of non-Autistic cisgender professionals and parent / carers, leaving the narratives of trans Autistic people overlooked. This study aimed to share trans Autistic narratives to contribute to knowledge around our lived experiences, as well as creating recommendations for future research in this area. This study represents findings from interviews with thirteen transgender and / or non-binary Autistic people (ages 20 to 50). Of interest was the way participant’s expressed their intersecting identities through narrative methods and what recommendations they would make for future research on transgender Autistic experiences. Participants spoke about a variety of life experiences including mental health issues, making and maintaining relationships, future aspirations and experiences with employment. Participants also gave recommendations for future work, including diversifying participant pools by ethnicity, age, physical disability and gender identity, as well as participatory approaches which include gender divergent Autistic people at all levels of study.
So many of us Autistic folk struggle with burnout – the extreme fatigue which comes from sensorial, emotional and mental overwhelm.
This can cause us to shutdown – some of us can be in bed for days or weeks on end, incapable of functioning at our usual level of activity, finding everything mentally taxing.
Many of us can’t afford to succumb to shutdown and her alluring siren call of isolation and inactivity. We have to surge through and somehow keep ourselves together.
This is especially difficult for those of us who have lots of responsibilities like raising young children and working full time. We just have to put our heads down and get on with it.
I have been in burnout for four months now, probably even longer. I am getting on with the day to day but I am well and truly overloaded, exhausted and floating around doing things purely by muscle memory.
I am struggling with basic self care, remembering to eat and drink, brushing my teeth, showering. It used to be that I was ashamed of all these struggles but now I just remind myself that it’s really hard to exist sometimes, so much so that the basics sometimes have to slip.
I know I’m not alone with my state of (barely) functioning burnout, so many of us are there right now, especially with the global pandemic, times of austerity and diminishing protections for Disabled folk. We are dazed, confused, exhausted by it all.
For others who are feeling this way: you’re not alone and you’re not broken. You are doing so amazingly well in a time and place which has been turned on its head.
We will come out of this phase, because that is all it is, a phase, and that means things will get better.
And for those of you who aren’t in burnout at the moment check in on your friends (even your non-Autistic ones!) because you never know when that might save someone from complete shutdown.
I have spent most of my life creating and maintaining a shield for myself (see Autistic realisation and shielding). It allows me to protect myself from toxic neurotypicality – the insistent need for society to make everyone comply to the ideals of the neuro-majority.
The shields are protective, some of the time they are unconsciously created and sometimes they are more of a thoughtful struggle to maintain. Sometimes they are created alone and sometimes they are created together – Autistic communities often make shared shields which protect and validate all of us lucky enough to be underneath them. In these safe spaces we can talk honestly and in a manner that suits us, we can stim, tic, behave and present ourselves in authentic ways. Community shielding isn’t just about making friends with others it’s about making friends with ourselves too, especially for those of us who have experienced trauma and those of us who are new to our Autistic realisation.
These shields allow us a space to explore our neurodivergent embodiment. The way we think, talk and fit into a world which is not set up to support or validate us. Shields are used in community building, they are safe places where we can come together, create and recreate ourselves, look after each other and challenge ideas of neuro-normativity.
Community and individual shields are cyclical, we need them to feel safe and joyful but the more we need and seek these, the more we need the shields. Shields aren’t always easy to create or maintain and they can become faulty during times of intense stress or burnout. They are a useful tool, but they can be exhausting to maintain. Creating shields with other Autistic people means we can share the load, allowing us to look after our mental health and stamina.
This is particularly important during intense bouts of advocacy and activism – when one of us can no longer hold our part of the shield someone with more energy can take our place. We can replenish so that we can once more contribute through writing, speaking, protesting, sharing information and challenging policy makers. These shields are made up of all sorts of people with different experiences and skills, and we are all the better for it.
Find here explainer videos about the three Autistic-derived theories of Autistic experience: Monotropism theory (Dinah Murray), Double empathy problem (Damian Milton), and Autistic language hypothesis (Rachel Cullen):
