Moving Towards Neurodiversity Inclusion
It’s Neurodiversity Celebration Week! When I launched Neurodiversity Celebration Week over three years ago, I never imagined that my campaign would be so widely embraced and well received. As a …
Category: Autism
The Family Experience of PDA – Book Giveaway
with Eliza Fricker, SEND parent and illustrator Eliza Fricker is an illustrator and designer, who is also the parent to her daughter who has a type of autism known as …
Growing up disabled: Puberty, privacy & positivity with Siena Castellon and George Fielding
Around one in five people in Britain live with a disability. That’s really quite a lot of people, all who have the same jumble of flaws, strengths, fears, desires and …
My experience with EMDR as an autistic young person
After a prolonged blogging dry spell brought on by the torture of lockdown, I am back in business with my writing. This time around I will recount what EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitisation Reprocessing) has done for me. What is …
Six top tips for managing meltdown triggers for autistic pupils in school
with @Cherrylkd, Special school assistant headteacher Twitter seems to be a popular hangout for teachers, and I’m pleased to see many proudly specialising in SEND. @Cherrylkd is a popular SEND …
Exploring the “subtle spectrum” of autistic discovery
What is The Subtle Spectrum of autism? People looking for the genetic roots of autism have identified around a hundred genes linked to being autistic. The combination of these genes …
What does the Government’s new Autism Strategy actually mean for autistic children and young people?
With Tim Nicholls, Head of Policy at the National Autistic Society If you’re seeking an NHS diagnosis for autism for your child or yourself, you are still almost certain to …
Whole School SEND Spotlight: The Autism Resource Suite
Autism is one of the most commonly identified needs in England, with more than 82,000 school-age children with an Education, Health and Care Plan for ‘Autism Spectrum Disorder’, representing 30% …
Helping autistic learners recover from pandemic educational losses
with Louise Bull from the Autism Education Trust Today is the start of Autism Awareness Week 2021, with the focus for many on recovery from the pandemic (although whether we …
Why is He Still Here? Book giveaway
Today we’re offering a free copy of a new book written by the youngest author that we have featured so far on Special Needs Jungle. Max Toper is an eighteen-year-old …
Neurodevelopmental Neurodiversity Network: A collaboration to advance understanding of neurodevelopment and neurodiversity
A short while ago I happened upon a website for something called the Neurodevelopmental Neurodiversity Network, which being autistic myself, immediately piqued my interest. Its website describes it as “an interdisciplinary …
Missing the mark: Anxiety and avoidance, illustrated.
with Eliza Fricker, SEND parent and illustrator Twitter, eh? Sometimes it makes you grind your teeth, or it can offer a spark of wisdom. Or in the case of today’s …
Why I’m using my new global United Nations role to promote neurodiversity and the importance of equality
Tania’s note: At SNJ, we want to pass on our huge congratulations to Siena for being selected for this incredible, exciting, global United Nations opportunity. Siena is an amazing young …
Left stranded: the impact of coronavirus on autistic people and families in the UK
with Jane Harris, Director of External Affairs at the National Autistic Society Coronavirus has had a negative impact on every section of society, but none more than the disabled and …
Why the Coronavirus lockdown adjustment for people with disabilities and mental health conditions was the right thing to do
and Alice Irving, barrister, research assistant to Steve Broach. The current public health crisis has affected us all. But for disabled people and those with mental health conditions, or those …
Celebrating neurodiversity: Now, more than ever, we must support one another, whatever our differences
As we enter into a dark time full of danger and uncertainty, it seems almost perverse to write an article about Neurodiversity Celebration Week. As I sit down to write, …
RDI and me: How this amazing autism programme has helped me thrive
Having had a couple of SNJ articles out now, I recognised I was running into a theme of throwing up frequent bad news and depressing stories without counterbalancing it with …
New Autism Toolkit launched to get support for children #RightFromTheStart
A few months ago, we ran a story about the development of a new toolkit called for #RightFromTheStart to assist schools to recognise and help children with autism. I was …
I chose mental health over a prestigious Sixth-Form, that refused to recognise my autism
A lesson I recently learned is that sometimes admitting defeat is the best decision you can make. This time last year, I was elated about starting at a state sixth-form …
The Government must act on legal ruling against discrimination of disabled children
With Jane Harris, Director of External Affairs at National Autistic Society Last year we covered a landmark legal ruling that was supposed to mean thousands of children with disabilities would …