I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again!
-Recognition alone is not enough-
Autism acceptance is a 12 months a year, every year thing around here.
I founded Said Differently because I wanted to create a safe space for the children, young people and families I support. A space where they can show up as their authentic selves without pressure to shrink or squeeze in to systems and environments that weren’t created with them in mind and weren’t interested in doing things differently. A community of collaborators who shared my vision and mission to practise in a way that feels a lot more human than we had been trained to be. Others who continue to advocate and push for system wide change 365 days a year.
I hope that as awareness grows, so too does acceptance and advocacy, and that that turns in to tangible, meaningful change so that our education systems and work places catch up to begin to dismantle some of the barriers that make these environments so challenging for neurodivergent people.
Here’s an example of how that’s played out on the ground in my work in recent weeks…..
- A TAC meeting to discuss preemptive and all day long access to headphones/movement breaks/sensory room for a child in a mainstream classroom environment.
- A post diagnostic block supporting a young person to understand their diagnosis and to begin to advocate for themselves in a university setting.
- Support for a child through delivery of a whole class information session on neurodivergence.
- Regular MDT/TAC meetings with a school based support team for an under 5 to troubleshoot behaviours of distress and encourage understanding of environmental stressors, to focus on what we can do to support the child, rather than what the child can do to change. Access to all important AAC pled for!
- A focus on ‘helpful for all but vital for some’ in relation to interoception, and MDT working with some wonderful EPs and OTs.
This is just a snapshot but there are running themes: Acceptance of our differences and collaboration. Not masking, not compliance ‘because that’s the way it is’. Real putting our heads together stuff.
So happy Autism Acceptance Month…day…year, let’s continue this important work, together. #slt #said_differently #differentnotless #autismacceptancemonth