Unbelievably, #DuvetKnowItsChristmas generates such good will on social media that over the years we've raised somewhere approaching a quarter of a million quid for homeless charities. If you can spare a bob or two, sling some to Centrepoint, and here's the link: www.gofundme.com/f/duvet-know...

Casual reminder that the myth of “pulling yourself up by your bootstraps” is a cruel hoax designed to convince poor people from all walks of life that the injustices they face are a result of their own actions, rather than an oppressive system rigged against them.

A great blog by @annmemmott.bsky.social for families Making the holidays enjoyable for everyone "Autistic young people deserve to enjoy family gatherings and festive events, in ways that aren't painful, humiliating, exhausting" Read here: www.autismcentral.org.uk/news/blog-ma...

This is problematic and upsetting in so many ways.

Oh, and just as a by the way, for a purely personal opinion. Try living in a society where you're constantly told you don't/shouldn't exist for one reason or another, or have your life experiences either dismissed out of hand or full on ignored, and then see how important your identity is to you. 4/

Things have got that bad in NHS organisational change land that an ICB colleague is taking 900 years of leave just to get away from it.

"Human psychology is complicated. Politics and power, by contrast, tend to be crass, cruel and prone to coming up with completely the wrong questions."

Every child gets a participation medal at school sports day vibes

I've never seen anything get down voted so much or so quickly on the BBC site , he's making great numbers as he'd like to say

Actually jaw-dropping stuff

Perhaps worth acknowledging that there are approx 4.5 MILLION children living in poverty in the UK - around 170,000 in the North East alone. Good that govt is patting itself on the back for helping some of them over the next 4 years. I guess the other 4 million can just wait longer.

1. There's going to be a lot of talk about over or under diagnosis and the conversation is going to be a mess. This is because how ADHD and ASD are defined has shifted. An ADHD diagnosis today isn't the same thing as an ADHD diagnosis ten years ago.

Children are being pulled into the youth justice system because their early health, education and care needs are not being addressed, according to a new Child of the North report edited by @vp-centre.bsky.social researchers. Read more 👇 vulnerabilitypolicing.org.uk/news/childre...

The government’s new public engagement campaign on SEND has been labelled a 'futile tick-box exercise' by parents, as ministers seek to reassure the sector they are listening

Considering Streeting's well stated belief autism, ADHD etc, along with mental health issues, are "overdiagnosed", I won't hold my breath for this doing anything other than being used to cut support, along with opportunities for diagnosis, for people who need it. #r4today www.bbc.com/news/article...

Streeting to next launch inquiry into “over-diagnosis” of left-handedness. “Never used to be like this,” he insists.

This is going to be interesting to watch from a critical perspective. Particularly within the wider context of the impacts of the pandemic, poverty, and political messaging around disability. How will children and young people and families be centred in the review? www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

This makes me a little nervous, especially if they are coming at it from a standpoint of looking for evidence of over-diagnosis. Hopefully will be a good thing if carried out rigorously with the right organisations and lived experience voices involved. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

Join our free Autism Central webinar on 19 Dec with Pete Wharmby on the ‘brain motorway’, where we explore more about monotropism, flow states, self-regulation and stress management: www.autismcentral.org.uk/events/brain...

👏

I find this sort of local "news" website article fascinating, like it's just telling people who live in the North East and already know that Alnwick exists, then Google some facts about the castle and copy a review of the garden off Trip Advisor and hit publish, job done. Who is this for exactly?

My 50 most-used words on Bluesky this year suggest I have been on my soapbox a lot

A timely reminder that any of us are one accident away from needing to navigate the labyrinth of a broken system not fit for purpose - remember this if you ever think disabled people are getting too many benefits.

once more I am begging everyone to do policy based on evidence, not on vibes from the loudest-shouting pressure groups. What the NHS is leaning towards - targeted screening for those most at risk - is the right way to do this. Blanket screening with an unreliable test causes harm.

1/ On health inequalities for autistic people the @hlautismactcom.parliament.uk report credited the success of the Oliver McGowan Training to coproduction and delivery, but still many autistic people struggle to access healthcare.

I am here for drama school kids doing politics better than any PPE graduate ever has

1/ The @hlautismactcom.parliament.uk report notes that the rise in public awareness of autism has not led to better understanding and acceptance of autistic people. bit.ly/HoLAutActReports Many autistic people have avoided going out because of worries about how others will treat them.

🚨 ♾ Our report out yesterday calls on HM Government to deliver an effective new autism strategy. Open this link committees.parliament.uk/committee/77... to view the following: - Full report - Easy Read report - Report summary with conclusions and recommendations - Shorthand

Hi, scientist here: This statement from the Trumpers at CDC is not how scientific truth works. This is a Merchants of Doubt rhetorical trick. No study can prove a negative. Scientific evidence shows vaccines do not cause autism. 🧪

Absolutely wild the proposed standards that migrants will have to meet when a sizeable proportion of those protesting against them would not meet the same standards but are all good because they have a flag

A social media post by the Department for Education lauding its achievements has been slammed by sector leaders and parents as 'tone deaf' and 'out of touch' schoolsweek.co.uk/dfe-social-m...

This is horrifying stuff.

I'm genuinely embarrassed for every person creating these online "news" stories (because they are not reporters or journalists). Keep feeding the outrage machine, Allison Pearson continues to have columns to spew out, and we all slide a bit further into oblivion. Merry Christmas.

Cruel. Callous. Cowardly. The public are seeing this Labour government for exactly who they are. We all have a responsibility to make them pay at the ballot box. Reject the hate. Reject them. This is not who we are. Let's make hope normal again. Join.greenparty.org.uk

A lot of things have made me angry today but this is just laughable. I honestly don't know where to start.

I mean I know immigration is the issue du jour but this line from Tice on EHCPs is downright unhinged if he thinks this is what is actually happening @spcialndsjungle.bsky.social @peterwalker99.bsky.social

While the government lose their collective minds about the asylum system, this is the daily reality of countless UK families. Immigrants are not to blame for this. "Securing our borders" will not lift children out of poverty. news.sky.com/story/inside...

I absolutely hate everything about this. The lack of humanity is just staggering. I know the cruelty was always the point with the Tories but my God it hasn't taken Labour long to catch on. Nobody who wants to stop Reform will be happy voting for the party that does their work for them.

Every time I hear a politician say that an issue is “dividing” this country they always then come down on the side of the right wing view of it. Just once I’d love to hear someone say “this issue is divisive, which is why I’m making the argument that kindness and compassion is important”

100% agree with this thread - we cannot continue to shoehorn ever-increasing numbers of square pegs into the round hole of the current education system. Education provision and learning environments at all levels must adapt and evolve to meet the breadth of student need, not the other way round.

Thousands of NHS staff to be made redundant after funding agreed

Big news in NHS organisational change land this evening courtesy of a 5pm all-staff email from our ICB chief exec. Things are suddenly happening pre-Budget, rather unexpectedly. Info here via email from my union.

And this before they make tens of thousands of NHS England and ICB staff redundant - when they eventually work out how to pay for it 🙄

Why is she slowly explaining this as if she is only just realising it now when it has always been true and they should have done something about it at the earliest possible opportunity

Every element of this story is my worst nightmare

A great example of how a change in case definition can result in a substantially different measured reality. It makes sense to take account of housing costs when measuring poverty levels. www.theguardian.com/society/2025...

So much money being funnelled into spurious "research" with the stated aim of finding obviously non-existent links between autism and [insert random unrelated factor], instead of funding literally anything else that would actually benefit autistic people.

These collaborative research partnerships are at the forefront of #knowledge #mobilisation in England, with dedicated teams of Fellows working closely with policymakers, practitioners, academics and local communities to support decision making across the integrated health and social care system.

Great news for @arcnenc.bsky.social 👏