When using Microsoft Word or Google Docs, don't just make text bigger and bolder to make it a heading. That will work for sighted users, but screen reader users will miss that and just hear it as normal paragraph text. Use actual heading styles, like level 1 through 6.

Great presentation by Jillian Martin and Aiden McCullagh at today’s @niscc.bsky.social conference. They were talking about #SelfDirectedSupport, the Social Care Collaborative Board, the two @impadultcare.bsky.social SDS projects and the new SDS Network for NI @sdsnetworkni.bsky.social.

Want to know more about SDS Network NI? Lots of our @sdsnetworkni.bsky.social Steering group members at the @niscc.bsky.social conference today inc Aiden McCullagh and Jillian Martin (who are presenting), Deena Nimick, Susan Hughes, Suzanne McStravick and Agnes Lunny. Or pop along to our stand!

Jillian and Aiden are talking all things SDS today at the @niscc.bsky.social conference in Belfast: - work of the Social Care Collaborative Board - 2 IMPACT projects on Implementing Managed Budgets, and Making Supported Planning more outcomes focused - and of course our lovely SDS Network NI!

Are you at the @niscc.bsky.social Social Work and social Care Research in Practice conference in Belfast today? Pop along to our stand and say hi!

SDS Network NI brings together people with lived experience, family carers, practitioners, providers, commissioners, policy colleagues and anyone committed to making SDS work better in practice. Find out more and sign up for FREE membership at selfdirectedsupport.org/hubs/norther...

Come to our online launch event on 26th March 2pm-3pm and hear: • Dr Simon Duffy, focusing on global learning and core principles of SDS • Lived experience and carer perspectives demonstrating what is possible when budgets are used creatively • about our upcoming community of practice sessions

Find out more about the Self-Directed Support (SDS) Network for Northern Ireland, register for free membership and our online launch event on 26th March at selfdirectedsupport.org/hubs/norther.... Please share! #SelfDirectedSupport #SDS #CommunityOfPractice #Disability #NorthernIreland #socialWork

SDS Network Northern Ireland is part of the global Self-Directed Support Network. Our network provides a space for people across NI to connect, learn and work together to develop self-directed support. Find out more and sign up for FREE membership at selfdirectedsupport.org/hubs/norther...

I wrote this song on Saturday, recorded it yesterday and released it to you today in response to the state terror being visited on the city of Minneapolis. It’s dedicated to the people of Minneapolis, our innocent immigrant neighbors and in memory of Alex Pretti and Renee Good. Stay free

To explore our longlist and application process, and answer your questions, we're hosting briefing sessions on: Monday 15 September, 2pm Tuesday 30 September, 2pm Wednesday 15 October, 11am Register now to receive joining details: forms.office.com/e/9d7EzRA7fa

We're looking for organisations to host IMPACT projects in 2026-27 We're looking for sites of all sizes, from individual services to whole regions View the long list of possible topics here: impact.bham.ac.uk/contact-us-2...

Last night, we welcomed lots of our new starters to Birmingham, as part of the 2025-26 induction It’s exciting to hear about the work that’s already happened, just a couple of weeks in to the project year, and reconnect with some of our colleagues who have been part of IMPACT for much longer

Great training this morning on how to do person centered planning with Aiden, Louise and @arcni_teamTILII. All part of the @impadultcare.bsky.social Managed Budgets project @arcni @healthdpt #Coproduction

First up is Discovering You're Autistic, about the experience of realising you're autistic, and the things we've found most valuable for anyone starting out on that journay. Realising that there are many other people out there with similar experiences is so powerful. www.youtube.com/watch?v=-eDv...

The other animation is Lightbulb Moments: Being Autistic. So much about Autistic experience is still missing from most professional accounts, which have been formulated from the outside. Many people talk about all these little epiphanies: 'I thought it was just me!' www.youtube.com/watch?v=3O6h...

Neurodiverse defendants deserve a fairer chance in the Criminal Justice System. Dr Bernard Horsford, Chartered Psychologist and Associate Fellow of the British Psychological Society, calls for you to get involved in a study that seeks to drive change. www.bps.org.uk/psychologist...

Our Special Issue on The Social Model in Autism Research is now available online & all articles are free until 11th September! journals.sagepub.com/toc/AUT/curr... Here are some of the brilliant things you can find in it... #AutismResearch #AutRes

“Building back better” rolled off the tongues of politicians during the pandemic, disabled campaigner tells #Covid inquiry. But all that's happened has been a 'huge rollback' of disability rights. www.disabilitynewsservice.com/covid-inquir...

NEW Practitioners as researchers – experiences of four people working in hybrid roles in two local authorities and a university John Woolham et al www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Absolute pleasure to meet the Bangor @arcni_teamTILII group & hear them Telling It Like it is. Great discussion about how to do assessments, provide support & do reviews & how important choice is for living your best life. Thanks Lou for organising! @arcni.bsky.social @impadultcare.bsky.social

Autistics aren't merely "sensitive" to sound; autistic tendencies also include "expanded access to auditory information, heightened perception to pitch, difficulties dealing with speech in background noise, and taking longer to adapt to auditory environments.": www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Another great session with the ARC TILII group in Belfast finding out what makes a good life & how to ensure assessments, support & review processes keep individuals with learning disability at the centre. Massive thanks to Lou & the awesome TILII members! @impadultcare.bsky.social #Coproduction

Great morning with ARC NI team TILII finding out what it means to have a good life & what we need to be thinking about when we’re doing assessments, finding support & doing reviews. Big thank you to Louise from ARC NI & the team at Fresh Focus for all the help! #Coproduction #ImpactManagedBudgets

We're looking for one representative from Northern Ireland who draws on care and support, and one unpaid carer representative from Wales to join IMPACT's Co-production Advisory Group. Find out more about the roles and apply here: buff.ly/7Kq2zhB

Don't forget to register for our online briefing on IMPACT’s work in Northern Ireland! buff.ly/QgxJgdi 13 June 2025 10:00 - 11:00 Hear about IMPACT’s Delivery Models – in action across NI. Learn how evidence is transforming adult social care, explore how you can get involved & connected!

Estimated prevalence of autism within the school aged population in Northern Ireland was 5.9% in 2024/25. Figures in new report from @healthdpt.bsky.social www.health-ni.gov.uk/news/publica...

eight years ago today we all watched the glory of zendaya falling madly in love with tom holland and the internet was never the same

Lovely morning in Stormont talking all things outcomes frameworks and strategy with Tiny Life. Fabulous setting and a great team

I was at a meeting today where we discussed equality, equity and justice. I was pleased to have this illustration from Tony Ruth easily to hand. #Equity #Equality #Justice #Diversity #Inequality Search “Giving Tree” by Tony Ruth for more explanation of this picture and concept.

New research on what happens to older people, families and care staff when care homes close - policy and practice guide & training video via www.birmingham.ac.uk/schools/soci...

Systematic review suggests online support groups can have positive impact on social wellbeing, behaviour & adjustment, with inconclusive findings for physical health & quality of life. Also possibility of negative effect on anxiety & distress, especially when exposed to others’ difficult experiences

Great to be at the annual Social work and Social Care conference today and hear all about coproduction and research. Lots of interesting people to catch up with and interesting speakers. Even had a chance to spread the word about @ImpAdultCare! @NI_SCC

Great fun the last couple of days with the @impadultcare.bsky.social team in Birmingham and even managed to make it back in time to see the legend @daraobriain.bsky.social in Dublin. Perfect!

Good to catch up with Robin Miller, Amanda Barr, Barbara Campbell and Deirdre Heenan about the NI work being done to improve adult social care through @ImpAdultCare. Lots of great projects underway! Deirdre, we need to get you in the pic next time tho! impact.bham.ac.uk

Alt text? Don’t worry, Santa’s elves have your back! Writing great alt text is simpler than you think. Got questions? Ask our alt text elves!

Great weekend in Cambridge getting ideas for all our ninjas. Pilgrimage to the @raspberrypi.com store & then #ClubsCon24 jam packed with fun creativity & the best bunch of people from @raspberrypiorg.bsky.social @coderDojo & @codeclub.bsky.social you could wish to spend time with. Thank you!❤️🖤💚

Please don’t expound the benefits of child participation while you develop laws & policies without them. An infographic explaining what you should do when you haven’t involved children on the right. The left is for those wanting to do their best to get it right- Lansdown’s 3Cs plus the Lundy Model.

Loving this paper 'Rethinking barriers and enablers'. How many thousands of weak research studies have reduced complex change to 'identifying and addressing barriers and enablers'? Here's how to do better! journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....

Mega-thread of 50 psychology-related starter packs! Click here and scroll up! bsky.app/profile/mark... #Psychology #AcademicSky #EduSky 🧪

Just had a great morning at @ForestsideCSchl learning how to bake Irish bread. Chef Jeffers is a legend. Great fun and the bread turned out delicious - we’ll be eating Veda, soda farls and cheese scones for a while!

Pups are definitely looking forward to next year (as are we) #BelfastPride

For and Against National Service - Policy making brought to you by Yes, Prime Minister https://youtu.be/ahgjEjJkZks?si=obUspHDE4W4vdxlC via @YouTube

Amazing day yesterday exploring Newgrange, Knowth and Dowth - beautiful places with lots of great information and wonderful guides. So lucky to have places like these here in Ireland @opwireland

If we have positive assumptions about people with Down’s syndrome, we’ll give them more opportunities. And maybe those positive assumptions will become reality. Powerful stuff from @madisontevlin and @coordown #AssumeThatICan #EndTheStereotypes

Great night tonight star gazing with @niscifest at @ArmaghPlanet - amazing views with the telescopes once the clouds cleared and loads of interesting info and insights

Love #HarryClarke and Aoife did an amazing job of tattooing his angel of Peace and Hope

Kendra is working part-time with National Autistic Society in NI -they’ve an online group starting up for autistic parents, a Dads Stay & Play group in Carryduff as well as a stack of resources, other groups & supports @Autism #SpreadTheWord...

Sad to hear about the passing of Chuck Feeney. His AP ‘giving while living’ spend-down philanthropy showed how things might be done differently: empowering people, prevention & early intervention, learning from evidence, valuing experiences, capacity building & human connections

Good fun earlier following the Pilgrim trail in #LoughErne and seeing the basilica and amazing Harry Clarke windows on Station island