Autistic and Teaching

Thoughts on neurodiversity, trauma, teaching and parenting

ASN teacher and mum needing an outlet for thoughts from a Neurodivergent brain

  • Inspirational or a Human right ?

    A few weeks ago a visitor to my classroom called me inspirational. Within 5 minutes of our children entering the room – We had inspired her . It was a well intentioned compliment and I suppose I should be flattered. My class have complex mobility, medical and learning differences. We have put a lot of Read more

  • The magic wand

    If you could wave a magic wand what would tomorrow be for your working day ? How would most teachers answer this ? Resources maybe , a learner to grasp a certain concept or do something they couldn’t do before? My answer was different … I was a teacher of the most vulnerable children in Read more

  • Labels- handle with care.

    Compassion and understanding are powerful attributes. As a parent and complex needs teacher it’s my ambition and responsibility to have that compassion and strive to understand what is really being communicated , to hold that space and experience with. Labels can act as catalysts for this , a means of gaining knowledge to support and Read more

  • Autistic Integrity

    When my incredible eldest daughter was 6 years old , her Head teacher took me aside. At Assembly during an explanation of the School values the older children had been asked the meaning of integrity . No one knew …until a little hand went up in the front row. Ella very confidently told the room Read more

  • Transition, trauma and unmasking.

    What happens when you leave a job that has broken you but one that you adore . In December I did just this. It’s never as simple as moving on. I never expected it to be easy . I never expected not to miss it. I knew I needed to move on , I knew Read more

  • Glimmers and the power of play

    It’s week one for my new class of fantastic young people. Again they come with a host of labels – non verbal, profound and multiple learning differences, autistic. True to my word I’m using these labels to gain an understanding and for compassion. I’m trusting in the here and now more. So this week we Read more

  • A brain of endless possibilities…

    A neurodiverse brain may have a lack of control of sensory and other information processing systems but this lends itself to a host of positive traits, neurodiverse brains tend to be fantastically creative and our ability to think outside the box and not comply to norms can be hugely beneficial. A lack of interoception – Read more

  • Life without limits

    Neurodiversity is a fact . Billions of neurons connecting in an infinite numbers of ways, firing out messages constantly between these connections. Brain plasticity means these connections are ever changing , our brains are so very unique. Why would we then we process and interact with our environment in the same way and why do Read more

  • Labels without judgment.

    We as humans like to categorise, to seek reason and explanation . Hence we label . We seek patterns in behaviours, in perceptions of the world , in communication styles, in challenges and strengths. Personally Autism , ADD , AuDHD some days mean everything : identity , acceptance, self awareness and compassion. Some days they Read more

  • Reflections on a year of constant thoughts

    The myth of autism as a lack of empathy and emotion is just that . The little group I was privileged to support this year would be deemed ‘severe’ , ‘complex’ , ‘challenging’. This is another myth. In truth yes our year was complex and not without its challenge’s, but through these ‘challenges’ we learnt, Read more