2-hour interview special now available on our YouTube channel!
The Doctor, The Poet, & The Reverend: Aucademy Educates. ADHD, discovery journeys, & finding neurodivergent others
In this Aucademy special, Dr Chloe Farahar (they/she) talks with Tom Delahunt (AKA The HoboPoet, he/him) and Reverend Lizzie Hopthrow (she/her) in The Quiet View yurt just outside Canterbury.
CONTENT NOTE: sporadic loud banging (try turning the sound down and using closed captions); discussion of suicide; mental health; addiction.
Chloe interviews Polyennic (ADHD) PhD candidate, Tom, and explores his journey and desire to share the neurodivergent canopy. At Rev Lizzie Hopthrow’s Quiet View, in a beautiful yurt, Aucademy discuss the importance of finding community and sharing curious spaces with other neurodivergent people.
Tom Delahunt is a doctoral candidate, dyslexic academic, TimesHEA winner (2019), and author of The Wandering Lamb. Tom’s PhD research interests lie in exploring the gaps between art and health. Link to Tom’s book: https://bookshop.canterbury.ac.uk/The…
Revd Lizzie Hopthrow is Warden of the Quiet View, and an Anglican priest and retired hospice chaplain. She is passionate about encouraging people to find stillness, comfort or inspiration when they visit. Her experiences in the hospice movement and the Taizé Community together with influences from Eastern spirituality have formed her understanding of the Universality of Divine Love. She is a very experienced labyrinth facilitator and trainer and has been published extensively on her national labyrinth work. Lizzie is a recipient of the Janki Foundation’s award – 100 Women of Spirit Link to the Quiet View https://www.quietview.co.uk/about-us
*Please note we are not clinicians or diagnosticians*
Aucademy’s Dr Chloe Farahar was invited to a closed session to contribute to the Autism Act 2009 review, held between April and June 2025 – and we wrote about what their session discussed, here, and the more detailed Westminster meeting notes and questions asked can be found here.
In this blog, we summarise what the 254 page report of the review sessions found.
Time to Deliver: Making the Autism Act Work for Autistic People
November 2025 | The Aucademy Team
The Verdict: Progress Without Purpose
A landmark House of Lords report has delivered a powerful verdict on sixteen years of autism policy in England. The message is clear: whilst awareness has grown, outcomes for Autistic people have not improved. It’s time for genuine transformation, not just tweaks around the edges.
When the Autism Act was passed in 2009, Autistic people were largely invisible to services. We fell through gaps between mental health and learning disability provision. The Act changed that – or at least, it was supposed to. The Select Committee’s findings tell a different story.
Simply put, the system isn’t working. Over 172,000 people are waiting for autism assessment, with many facing delays of two years or more. The NICE guideline says thirteen weeks. The reality? Some people wait five years. And when they finally get that diagnosis, post-diagnostic support is virtually non-existent. As one witness told the Committee: “You get your diagnosis and fall off a cliff.”
What Actually Matters: Beyond Awareness
The report exposes a fundamental problem with how autism is approached in public services. We’ve moved from invisibility to awareness, but awareness without acceptance is meaningless. Autistic people still face a 20-year life expectancy gap. Eight in ten experience mental health issues. Only three in ten are in employment. These aren’t just statistics – they represent lives constrained by systemic failures.
The Committee heard powerful testimony from Autistic people and those who support them. The message was consistent: public spaces remain inaccessible, healthcare is often traumatic, education excludes rather than includes, and support arrives only at crisis point. One particularly striking finding? Autistic children are five times more likely to be excluded from school. This isn’t about “challenging behaviour” – it’s about environments that disable.
A New Strategy: From Crisis to Prevention
The current autism strategy (2021-26) set ambitious goals but, after its first year, successive governments produced no implementation plan or funding. The Committee demands better for the new strategy launching in July 2026.
Their vision is transformative: a shift from crisis-driven to preventative support, from diagnosis-dependent to needs-based provision, from segregation to genuine inclusion. Importantly, they insist that Autistic people must be meaningfully involved at every stage – not just consulted, but leading the change.
Key Changes That Matter
The Committee makes over 80 recommendations. Here are the ones that could genuinely transform Autistic people’s lives:
Public Understanding: A government-led campaign to improve understanding and acceptance, with mandatory training for all public-facing staff. Aiming to move from “autism awareness” to creating accessible environments and challenging damaging misconceptions.
Healthcare Revolution: Digital flags in patient records, hospital passports, and mandatory Oliver McGowan training. The goal? Making reasonable adjustments standard practice, not special favours. The Committee also demands action on the shocking statistic that Autistic people die 20 years younger than non-autistic people.
Education Transformation: An end to off-rolling and illegal exclusions, whole-school approaches to inclusion, and accountability measures with teeth. Schools must become places where neurodiversity is valued, not punished.
Employment Support: A specialist jobs service, expanded supported employment, and incentives for employers to make genuine adjustments. The economic case is clear: every pound invested in employment support returns four pounds to the economy.
Community Support: Investment in preventative, stepped support that keeps people out of crisis. The Committee found that crisis-driven approaches cost more in both money and lives. Early intervention isn’t just humane, it’s economically essential.
Making This Information Accessible
At Aucademy, we believe information about Autistic people should be accessible to Autistic people. That’s why we’ve created two summary versions of this important report:
• Standard Summary: A comprehensive two-page overview covering key findings, recommendations, and implementation requirements. Perfect for professionals, advocates, and anyone wanting detailed insights.
• Easy Read Summary: An accessible version using clear language, visual symbols, and simple tables. Designed specifically for people with a learning disability and/or Autistic people who prefer information presented simply and clearly.
Please share them widely – this information belongs to our community.
What Now? From Report to Reality
Reports don’t change lives – action does. The Committee has provided the evidence, the framework, and the mandate. Now it’s up to all of us to demand implementation.
For Autistic people and our allies, this report is validation and ammunition. It confirms what we’ve been saying for years: the problem isn’t autism, it’s the disabling environments and systems we navigate. Use this report in your advocacy, your complaints, your campaigns for change.
For professionals, this report is both challenge and opportunity. It demands we move beyond awareness to genuine culture change. It requires us to centre Autistic voices, not just consult them. And it insists we stop treating reasonable adjustments as optional extras.
The Time is Now
The report’s title – “Time to Deliver” – captures the urgency. Sixteen years after the Autism Act, Autistic people are still fighting for basic rights and recognition. The Committee has thrown down the gauntlet to government, to services, to society.
As the report states: “Autistic people are as diverse as our country and represent an integral, valuable part of it.” It’s time that diversity was celebrated, that value was recognised, and that Autistic people could thrive, not just survive.
The new autism strategy launches in July 2026. Between now and then, we have a window to influence its development. The Committee has given us the evidence and the framework. Now we must ensure the government delivers genuine transformation, not more empty promises.
Because quite simply, Autistic people have waited long enough.
Access the Summaries
Download our accessible summaries of the House of Lords Select Committee report “Time to Deliver: The Autism Act 2009 and the new autism strategy” from the Aucademy website. Available in standard and easy-read formats.
About Aucademy CIC: Aucademy provides Autistic-led support, education, and advocacy. We believe in Autistic culture, community, and the power of lived experience to drive change.
By Thomas Delahunt & Dr Chloe Farahar For The Poetic Nursing Heart
Aucademy interview special with Tom about the importance of neurodivergent spaces to be released December 2025. When released, Find the interview on our YouTube channel.
Tom provides audio of his written piece, transcript found below
Sharing the Canopy: Tom Delahunt “When trees grow together, nutrients and water can be optimally divided among them all so that each tree can grow into the best tree it can be.” Peter Wohlleben, The Hidden Life of Trees (2016)
In The Butterfly Farmer, I explored safety as something grown, not built nurtured through relationship rather than prescribed. A cocoon is only safe because the world around it allows it to be. It is a space of quiet transformation, a place of suspension and trust.
Lately, I’ve been thinking again about trees and their canopy, how they share the light within their branches. It recalls Peter Wohlleben’s words, and it reminds me of Chloe’s work, alive with connection, awareness, and care. Beneath the soil, roots meet fungi, fungi meet stone, and stone meets water. There is no hierarchy, only a web, each thread alive to the other’s pulse. And perhaps that is the truest form of equality: the unseen brilliance that binds us. The mycelium beneath mirrors the stars above, weaving light and life in opposite directions. Between them, we learn what it means to belong to both earth and sky.
As I sit with that image, I think of Fred again’s line: “I found you, the one who cares.” Listen here
Isn’t that what we’re really doing, in the classroom, in the forest, in the poems and pauses between words? We are finding the ones who care, those who see us not for productivity but for our pulse. To build a canopy where light is shared freely, where safety grows from reciprocity.
Safety, however, does not appear by accident. It must be made. It takes intention, humility, and often a quiet struggle. Hatred breeds hatred, as La Haine reminds us; if we are to stop that cycle, we must plant something tender, radical, and alive. This work – this Middle-earth battle for inclusion – is fought not with swords, but with care, art, and listening. It is a battle of roots, not power.
Soon, Chloe and I will meet in a space I have held as safe a quiet view offered by Lizzie, a place where reflection, connection, and understanding can unfold fully. It is a space to witness tendencies, to explore pulse and presence, to discover light shared in its most tender form. There, with Steve capturing the moment on video, the canopy we share will take shape not only in thought, but in sight, sound, and feeling.
And so, I will ask Chloe: what does the canopy mean to you? How do you find and share light within the academic forest? What sustains your roots when the soil feels thin?
And I wonder, quietly, what spaces will I find next, beneath the canopy of those who care?
Picture of Tom in the HoboPoet Hut, Chloe looking in.
Chloe provides audio of their written piece, transcript found below
Response to Tom: Chloe, Sharing the Canopy
Tom, your canopy metaphor resonates. It reminds me of the difference between two worlds I’ve lived in: the “culture of autism” and Autistic culture. One traumatised and pathologised me. The other helped heal.
The “culture of autism” gave me a vocabulary of deficit. Before diagnosis even, my Autistic behaviours and way of being were assaulted. The pre-diagnosis and then diagnosis labels were etched into my skin with black markers by others. “Persistent impairment in reciprocal social communication” – a warning label, not a description of my experience. I was communicating. They just weren’t listening in my language.
Images of Chloe as a child.
Image of the diagnostic manuals as to what “autism spectrum disorder” is.
For years, we can exist in limbo. Too Autistic for neurotypical spaces – even when we mask. But also, too alienated by the pathology narrative to seek out other Autistic people. Who wants to gather around shared symptoms? Who finds community in a checklist of what’s “wrong”?
So, we drift. Not just alone, but unseen. Existing in translation, never in our native tongue.
And then we find Autistic space.
Spaces where finger flicking means “anxiety” without explanation. Where someone could see another’s near-invisible rocking and know “meltdown imminent” without needing a performance of distress.
We’re writing the Autistic dictionary. Where they wrote “special interests,” we write “specialisations” or “dedicated interests.” Where they diagnosed “high-functioning,” we recognise “unsupported.” Where they labelled “severe,” we see “distressed Autistic human.”
This isn’t semantics. It’s survival. Language shapes reality. And when they call us “people with autism” – that careful separation – they’re telling us they’d like us better without autism than with. But I am Autistic. Capital A. Like a people. Like a culture. Like something worth capitalising.
Healing from the “culture of autism” doesn’t mean becoming less Autistic. That was their goal, never ours.
It means recognising that the pathology was never in us – it was in the narrative wrapped around us and used against us.
When I’m thriving, I’m still Autistic. When I’m struggling, it’s not my neurology that’s failed – it’s the environment that’s failed to accommodate it.
Beneath that canopy, those marker labels that seeped into me – “cold,” “standoffish,” “unapproachable” – begin to lose their bite. Among fellow Autistic people, those words are shared, understood, and reframed. What was once isolation becomes connection. The canopy is where we scrub away the Sharpie tattoos of stigma, together, even if the residue remains.
Image of Chloe with marker drawn words on their face and body, like “bossy” and “weird”
Every Autistic person who moves from shame to pride weakens their narrative. Every connection we make breaks isolation tactics. Every space we create proves their “treatments” unnecessary.
We “treat” autism by teaching how to be Autistic. Chloe Farahar. SoYoureAutistic.wordpress.com
We’re not asking for acceptance anymore. We’re building our own space.
And in these spaces – these canopies – we don’t just survive. We thrive.
So, the canopy means to me: healing and refuge. It is the place where Autistic identity replaces pathology, where community replaces isolation, and where culture replaces stigma. It is the space where we learn not how to be indistinguishable from others, but how to be unapologetically Autistic, together.
Everybody’s weird, you just have to find your group of weird. Chloe
It’s not the absence of struggle. It’s understanding its source. It’s not fixing what’s “broken.” It’s recognising we never were.
And under this canopy – whether in a classroom, a forest, or an internet forum – we find each other.
A number of images of different neurodivergent people, friends, and fiance of Chloe’s.
Where Chloe has written on Autistic identity, culture, community, and space for Autistic well-being and other related topics:
Farahar, C. (2022). Chapter Nineteen – Autistic identity, culture, community, and space for wellbeing. In D. Milton, & S. Ryan (Eds.), The Routledge International Handbook of Critical Autism Studies (1st ed.). Routledge.
Farahar, C. (In Print 2025). The Farahar and Foster Three-Dimensional Autistic Space: Dismantling the ‘autism spectrum’ and centring observer bias in the missing, dismissing, and misdiagnosis of Autistic people. In R. S. Herbert (Ed.), Beyond Autistic stereotypes: New perspectives on identities, gender, and experience. Oxford University Press.
Farahar, C., & Foster, A. (2021). #AutisticsInAcademia. In N. Brown (Ed.), Lived Experiences of Ableism in Academia: Strategies for Inclusion in Higher Education (pp. 197-215). Bristol, UK: Policy Press.
References (Tom)
Carello, J. & Butler, L.D., 2015. Practicing Trauma-Informed Care: A Guide for Teachers and Practitioners. [Publisher if known].
Herman, J.L., 1992. Trauma and Recovery: The Aftermath of Violence – From Domestic Abuse to Political Terror. New York: Basic Books.
La Haine, 1995. La Haine [Film]. Directed by Mathieu Kassovitz. France: Canal+.
Wohlleben, P., 2016. The Hidden Life of Trees: What They Feel, How They Communicate. London: William Collins.
Fred again.., 2021. Kyle (I Found You) [Song]. On Actual Life 2 (February 2 – October 15 2021). London: Again.. Ltd. Link
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!
Kent and Medway Partnership Trust: Partnership between Aucademy CIC; bemix; and Kent Autistic Trust to deliver the live and interactive training components of The Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training to health and social care staff across all of Kent and Medway.
“A contract to develop the second interactive webinar and in-person components of the training has been awarded to a local partnership led by bemix, a social enterprise co-led by people with a learning disability, with Aucademy, a team of Autistic educators, and Kent Autistic Trust. The partnership will engage health and care providers…with training scheduled to be available from April 2025.”
“Kent and Medway Partnership Trust are proud to be collaborating with Aucademy CIC to bring to Kent & Medway four webinars in 2024/25 on up-to-date and relevant topics to support our goal to Transform Autistic Healthcare.”
2023-2025
Barnet Education and Learning Service-Aucademy 2023-2025
“The BELS-Aucademy peer mentoring project aims to address social isolation, negative self-view, and emotional dysregulation among Autistic young people aged 14-19. Consisting of a team of Autistic mentors, the project seeks to improve social networks, self-esteem, and self-advocacy skills through Autistic-led peer mentoring. The key objectives include providing mentoring for Autistic youth with high support needs, creating inclusive spaces for social connection, and enhancing understanding of the Autistic experience.”
Dr. Chloe Farahar explores the creation and importance of Autistic identity, culture, community, and space for well-being in their chapter of the same name in The Routledge International Handbook of Critical Autism Studies. Chloe has a PhD in social psychology specifically attempting to improve the dominant discourse surrounding “mental illnesses” (neurodivergences). They are currently engaged in post-doctoral research on the Oxford-led ATTUNE project, exploring young neurodivergent people’s experience of mental health and adverse childhood experiences, through participatory arts-based research.
Autistic identity, culture, community, and space for well-being explores the importance of self and community identification, belonging and connectedness. Chloe posits that many Autistic people distance ourselves from the pathology of ‘autism’ therefore distancing ourselves from the protective factors of community. This leaves many Autistic people in limbo – many of us feel that we do not fit into the neuro-normative world or the Autistic community, which can lead to isolation and poor self-esteem.
Chloe appreciates that ‘the culture of autism’ creates internalised stigma, shame and ableism. The ideas which have formed the foundation of knowledge on “autism” are based in deficit, negativity and hopelessness – no wonder so many of us want to distance ourselves from such an awful fate.
Through Autistic identity, culture, community, and space for well-being Chloe suggests that in the creation of safe spaces – such as their own ‘So You’re Autistic’ community group – Autistic people can find ourselves. In these spaces we can create meaningful connections with others and understand our Autistic embodiment in neutral terms: being Autistic is neither good nor bad, it simply is.
Autistic spaces and communities can be places of growth and healing. They can allow us to combat discrimination together, improving collective and individual self-esteem. These spaces could also work as a way for Autistic people to realise our neurodivergence without needing a diagnosis based in deficit and disorder.
Autistic identity, culture, community, and space for well-being is a great exploration of Autistic culture and a summary of the ongoing move from the pathology paradigm to the neurodiversity paradigm. Adding to work from Botha 2020, Kapp, 2019, Chapman 2020, Dekker 1999, Walker 2020, and many others. This is a must-read.
