If you haven't seen this yet then treat yourself. ♥️

Added another family member to our neurodivergent ‘list’ today. The best list.

A very unscientific straw poll amongst my peers (generally liberal/lefties) says there is appetite for a ‘defence tax.’ Why isn’t there a case being made? It could be targeted at the wealthiest, as money is tight. I know taxation is a dirty word but the world has changed.

Autism and cPTSD have a very complicated relationship… We know (from loads of research) that autistic people are more likely to be abused at home, in school, at work, and in romantic relationships. We know that this is partly because autistic people have social communication differences...

This applies to many workplaces. I often call meetings 'social oiling' as it's just really about that often. Decisions already made it's about either informing you or letting people state the same thing in different ways to feel the hierarchy. It's not about the meeting.

Tried cassava as a replacement for butternut squash in a veggie Thai curry. Son just described dinner as a ‘process of moving from denial to acceptance.’

I mark 1st year undergrad work. One of the loveliest things is seeing them develop their own academic ‘voice’ over a year.

Reading is practically a miracle when you think about it … it’s astonishing that the Visual Word Form Area like our left ventral occipitotemporal cortex is able to translate these agreed upon iconographic symbols into language at all when you think about it. It’s wild how brains do that!

Noticing a shift in someone's tone & spending the rest of the day convinced you've upset them. Replaying conversations. Feeling feedback like a physical blow. For many autistic girls & women, this is RSD and it's neurological, not an overreaction. Read more: https://bit.ly/AGNRSD

Happy days! Bee control man is here - taking the whole bird box and has promised to relocate, rather than kill them. I like them, just not on the side of a kid’s Wendy house!

A single NHS record. Smiling wryly this morning. Our GP practice was gobbled up by a larger group at Christmas. Since then, my Ehlers Danlos has disappeared from my record, tests results aren’t recorded for weeks and other info is inaccurately recorded.

So much YES to this!!

7am! Let marking commence.

*Might* be contemplating doing another degree, but just for the joy of it. Time for a course Google!

Autistic distress is often treated as “behaviour.” But behaviour is the surface. Underneath it may be sensory overload, loss of agency, fear, exhaustion, pain, shame, or years of being misunderstood. If you only respond to behaviour, you miss the human being.

It's all kicking off in Canterbury.

These stats coming out at the same time as the Graduate Futures report on outcomes for disabled graduates, and the employment gaps that persist, is making me have a think

Morning. My husband just told me to, ‘Use your power for good, not evil.’

Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on Radio 4 Today has me screaming at the radio before 7am. Firstly, ADHD isn’t a ‘low level disability.’Secondly, how about looking at employers first, rather than disabled people.Poor inclusive practices stop so many from succeeding in the workplace.

this is part of the reason I don’t forbid LLMs in certain writing classes where it makes sense not to—like science writing or social media writing AI is so bad at what it’s supposed to do, all I have to do is grade on merit & tell students why they got that grade & MAGICALLY most stop using the AI

Dear young women... You look perfect as you are. It might not feel it, but love you're body you only get one. Don't build face cards or buy into this idea you need to change your face or body. You don't.

I think they’re going to have to go - too dangerous a spot. Little great niece and nephew might accidentally whack with a ball. Found a company that says they will relocate rather than destroy. On my admin list. #TreeBumbleBees

We have tree bumble bees in our bird box. I would normally be delighted but the box is on our shed, adjacent to the door. The internet says they are docile unless their nest is threatened and they particularly dislike vibration. Gulp.

The heat is already hitting some of us hard, and the bank holiday weekend looks even hotter. We swapped heated blankets for cooling towels last week. Anyone who melts over 20°C, it's not too late to join us at 7pm tonight for Ask the OT, we'll dust off the fans! www.hypermobility.org/events

Morning. Can anyone recommend a good private orthotist (for braces, not feet) in London, please?

Important work from @sedsconnective.org Hypermobility Physical/Mental health challenges in neurodivergent children and young people! www.sedsconnective.org/post/hypermo...

Much about the nhs is bizarre, but the fab orthotics team knows I can take short notice cancellations (I can see the hospital from my house). New knee brace appointment yesterday. Brace arrived today. Appointment at 6pm. Whooop!

Procrastination isn’t a habit—it’s an art form, and neurodivergent people are Michelangelo. Fact or Fiction? #Neurodivergent #Neurodiversity #Neurodivergent #Neurospicy #Autism #ADHD #AuDHD #TouretteSyndrome #tourette #disorder #ocd #dyslexia #asd #Dyspraxia

Books for bored children! Unusually interesting books for children aged 5-14 with titles by Andy Seed, Robert Muchamore, Colin Furze, Liz Pichon & Jo Simmons schoolreadinglist.co.uk/genres/books... #kidlit #homelearning

The lovely staff at ancient relative’s care home could not stop laughing today. I simply told them that I walk in the pool with neoprene webbed gloves on. I guess the image was too much for them.

Our local hospital has put in a little wildlife pond. I walked out of the MRI today with a lady who’d had a bit of a wobble in the machine. We stopped and watched two geese and a crow drinking. I saw her shoulders drop.

Once the Chelsea flower show is over, I’d highly recommend a visit to the Chelsea Physic Garden. It’s a beautiful little oasis, particularly if you like the history of medicine.

Spot the tourist. #unattended

MRI man thought I was under 55 today, so that was nice (only knee -no dramas).

Should be read in conjunction with this fine series on BBCRadio4 — & particularly this episode www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m...

Good morning to you from today’s hypermobility challenge! 😆

Spent most of 2023 clearing a house with 70 years of accumulated clutter. No intention of shuffling off this mortal coil yet, but I’m determined not to leave the same for my family. So, we’re doing ‘one bag a day.’ That’s a small carrier bag of rubbish/recycling. 3 days in - already struggling!

Whooop whooop! Fab nhs physio just called. Case review team are sending me for a knee MRI. #EDS

Had some lovely feedback this morning from someone who bought my book and is using it to help them get through their revision! It’s in lots of university libraries and some local authority ones too . www.amazon.co.uk/Study-Skills...

The cover illustration is from Tim Bobbin's "The Human Passions Delineated". Tim Bobbin was the pen-name of John Collier, buried in St Chad's graveyard, Rochdale. He was known as the Lancashire Hogarth. Here's a couple more:

I had so many, ‘oh, so that’s why…’ moments reading this book. Highly recommended, if unsettling.

One of those mornings when I need to turn off the radio. An attempt to ignore the world’s lurch to the right.

Yay! I have permission to get back in the gym as knee is now stable enough to climb on and off equipment. Upper body only. Knee brace still on, probably for another 6 weeks. I’m going to continue to walk in the pool. Orthotics review in 10 days for a better brace. I love my new, NHS physio! #EDS

“I've always tried to present a positive view of the world in my work. It's so much easier to be negative & cynical & predict doom for the world than it is to try & figure out how to make things better. We have an obligation to do the latter." - Jim Henson

A sensible thread about the teaching of reading.

I have managed to arrive at the dentist minus my hearing aids.

Join us in making a difference! Taking part in any fundraising activities? Think of SEDSConnective, the first Hypermobility (EDS, Mcas, POTS) and Neurodivergence user led Charity. Help us to share our cause with your network 🙏

Powerful stuff on Radio 4 Today. Kids having to be security checked on buses to school to ensure there’s not a terrorist sneaking amongst them. What a world.

Ableism exhausts me more than I exhaust myself