So much more than online learning, The Haven is a space where learning adapts, strengths shine, and every young person belongs. Read more about our approach on our blog - https://bit.ly/HavenApproach

Great to see Prof Maggie Snowling advocate for interest-based approaches to teaching reading ✨ #neuro-affirming #monotropism #neurodiversity

Discover Dinah Murray’s concept of co-tropicality. Explore how joining Autistic children in their flow & attention tunnel builds trust, co-regulation, & deep… https://autisticrealms.com/shared-flow-turning-attention-to-support-children-together/?utm_source=bluesky&utm_medium=jetpack_social

But is it #neuro-affirming? @autisticrealms.bsky.social & @tanyaadkin.bsky.social have a fab explainer of what neurodiversity-affirming practice this is and why it matters ✨ #neurodiversity #doubleempathy #monotropism autisticrealms.com/neuro-affirm...

Alternatively, we can learn from ND adults re school: “We lament the loss of creative & intellectual potentialities offered by our divergences that we could have harnessed had we been encouraged to embrace them” (Betts et al. 2023) #neuro-affirming pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC...

While we’re waiting for RISE to help improve things, have you seen Barriers to Education’s new resources? barrierstoeducation.co.uk I’ve been really impressed by their evidence-based strategies and practical tools.

I'm glad that my kids are out of the school system because if I got a text from school about the number of days of absence I would have felt strongly inclined to block the number. I do think we need to reflect on whether at some point we're just being patronising. schoolsweek.co.uk/texting-pare...

If only mainstream schools could be more #inclusive of children & teens with #SEND. #schoolleaders & #headteachers, please check out the new wave of #EdRes showing exactly which aspects of MS drive so-called ‘demand’. Please embed #neuro-affiriming approaches. www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2025/ju...

Important insights from *another* outstanding study on experiences of #autistic YP in schools: “Participants often felt misunderstood by school staff & peers, who they said … invalidated their experiences, & had limited knowledge on adapting teaching practices to accommodate differences. Their

New blog for @autisticsociety.bsky.social Embracing neurodiversity affirmative practice: A path to inclusive support for Autistic people by myself and @tanyaadkin.bsky.social with signposting & further resources. www.autism.org.uk/advice-and-g...

proud leading this paper with Amy Pearson Rethinking “Belonging” in Mainstream Schools So happy to share soon with the world (another!) new study in which we explored what belonging feels like for autistic adolescents assigned female at birth (AFAB) in mainstream schools.

Pls share: @maggiechapman.bsky.social @ross-greer.bsky.social

“For more school leaders to get on board with #inclusive #education, they require an end to, or a change to the system of, school league tables & published results … a drop in perceived standards is a no-go for too many HTs desperate to maintain their position & be successful” #SEND

If GCSE examiners “can’t recognise legitimate but less common approaches, pupils are disadvantaged precisely for engaging with their subjects at a deeper/more authentic level … success depends less on mastery of knowledge than on 2nd-guessing what examiners know/expect” 💯 #autism #monotropism

But maybe first make sure reading is joyful & relevant for young children? Lots of amazing tips in this fab @thesendcast.bsky.social episode with @drsarahmo.bsky.social & Ginny Bootman ❤️ #inclusion

I saw post from an organisation I respect about "every minute counts to maximise learning" and "how not to waste a minute in the classroom" and all I could think was... is giving kids some breathing space "wasting time"? School is overwhelming for so many.

It’s NOT a communication “deficit”… It’s the Double Empathy Problem - and it changes everything 💬 Autistic people aren’t defective, uncaring, or unsociable 🧠 The real issue? Two different neurotypes trying to connect Communication is a two-way street, not a one-sided flaw (1/7)

“What does the science say about the causes of this complex disorder?” Not a great start, BBC. #neurodiversity

Super helpful resources ✨ It would be good to see these used more often in schools. #SEND

Also my kinda thing 🤩

The edu system needs a code of ethics and practice. It needs an independent body that challenges favouritism, cronyism, unethical and immoral practice. All should commit to doing no harm, to be strong in the face of those who enrich themselves at the expense of our children. We deserve better.

For a moment I thought they were talking about the children’s wellbeing 🤷‍♀️

“What precisely should a 14yo & a 6yo be able to see [in the curriculum]?” Great question! For the 6yo - #neurodiversity For the 14yo - neurotypes like theirs How can we embed this? #neuro-affirming approaches. (Shakespeare has loads of ND rep, btw) autisticrealms.com/neuro-affirm...

I'm so naive because I had thought Labour in power would prioritise children's engagement in education and the inclusion of vulnerable young people and get rid of the excessive testing that warps the curriculum and creates unnecessary workload. More fool me. #EduSky

And even when ‘baseline’ testing isn’t glitchy, it still contributes to (neuro) #normative “rules, routines & expectations” which “often exclude #neurodivergent students, whose needs & ways of thinking are rarely reflected in how schools are designed” 😕 journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

EDs can be symptoms of #autistic & #ADHD #burnout. Please can @skinnock.bsky.social read #EdRes on #schooldistress & the negative impacts of school #attendance on NDs? Please can schools be made safe, #inclusive & #neuro-affirming? www.ucl.ac.uk/news/2025/ju... researchfeatures.com/wp-content/u...

“Girls in the UK are still being diagnosed #autistic on average 2-3 years later than boys … we are coming to understand about the damage a late diagnosis … can do to an autistic person’s MH, confidence & self-esteem” @autisticgirlsnet.bsky.social autisticgirlsnetwork.org/keeping-it-a...

The DfE has published rapid evidence reviews into identifying & supporting the needs of children with SEND in mainstream settings. Findings include a need for a shared, whole-school commitment supported by leadership. We'll be looking at these in depth www.gov.uk/government/public...

Just two weeks until the petition to protect the rights of children with special educational needs and disabilities closes on 9th October. Will you help us to get as many signatures as possible before it’s handed in at Downing Street? petition.parliament.uk/petit...

The message is very clear, from @drmbothapsych.bsky.social when you dehumanise people in research people disengage morally from the outcomes. E.g. you can do research that harms, but you don't care, because you've morally disconnected from those in your research. This is happening in autism research

The final talk at our conference 'Autism: The Art of the Possible, will be presented by Damian Milton, on participatory research - looking at research WITH, not ON, autistic people. 📅 Wed 8th Oct 🏢 London, SW1P 3NZ 🎟️ Tickets (in-person, livestream, or on-demand): www.atautism.org/at-autism-co...

So much to learn from this new online school created by the @autisticgirlsnet.bsky.social ❤️

Thanks, I appreciate that. I think my concern is that a lot of teachers are not prepared for the ways that neurodivergent children's perceptions and processing styles differ from what they're used to. They might think they're getting to know them, but assumptions & preconceptions get in the way.

This is good as far as it goes, but what about helping them to understand what's going on for neurodivergent learners? Nearly everything helpful teachers can do with respect to SEND will be more effective if they have some insight into minority processing styles. oolong.co.uk/nd-at-school/

I really hope I’ve misunderstood this @teamlabouruk.bsky.social conference schedule. Please tell me that parenting classes aren’t being proposed as a solution to current structural education issues 🙄 #inclusion #SEND

Outstanding resources ✨

If you replace the term “special educational needs” with “roughly 20% of all children in the education system” it immediately shows how nonsensical & unworkable these kinds of approaches are. There are no quick fixes. It’s all about embracing complexity, not reducing kids to a homogeneous mass.

I really hope the DfE is minded to learn from #autistic & other #neurodivergent authored theory & #EdRes. #neurodiversity #doubleempathy #monotropism

Disappointing not to see any references to #autistic & other #neurodivergent authored theory & #EdRes in this discussion. If teachers can’t conceptualise #neurodiversity, #doubleempathy & #monotropism, the ‘ignore, masking, #burnout’ cycle identified by @suereviews.bsky.social will continue 😔

I took paracetamol when pregnant and both my children are autistic. So powerful was the effect that it crept backwards up the family tree and made my uncle, cousins, probably my grandpa autistic too.

Fantastic resources! ✨

We are delighted to share two new neuro-affirming educational animation films about Autistic Experiences. Find out more, watch the films and read our blogs: 1.Discovering You're Autistic 2.Lightbulb Moments: Being Autistic www.thrivingautistic.org/autistic-exp...

If you haven't already done so, do sign up for next week's #CRAEwebinar Demystifying Emotion-Processing: Autism & Alexithymia with @connortkeating.bsky.social Thur Oct 2nd 4pm bst

A brillliant, fascinating article by @iancushing.bsky.social about the word gap concept - but also about the whole ecology of our current education system, uncovered by tracing the experiences of one teacher and what these reveal about the system as a whole.

V interesting! “The assumption that students will naturally attend to the most relevant features is one of the most persistent errors in instruction” Why is a focus on focus relevant to relevance, and what might this mean for teachers of interest-based learners? #monotropism #doubleempathy

Excited to finally be able to share these animations I’ve been working on with @fergus.oolong.co.uk , @iara-abigalil.bsky.social , @autisticrealms.bsky.social and other team members not on here. Particularly pleased to get my favourite image that I use of “thinking in constellations” in there ✨

When I was young, being a carer simply wasn’t talked about. We’ve come a long way since then, but government still all too often ignores the millions of carers across Britain. I was proud to write the foreword to this IPPR report calling for real and transformative change.

new article published open access in Reading Research Quarterly 💫 Follow the word gap: the social life of a deficit concept doi.org/10.1002/rrq.... i trace how deficit ideologies associated with the 'word gap' get reproduced - and rejected - in teacher education and schools.

Hurrah! We can finally share the animations I have been working on with @thrivingautistic.bsky.social Lightbulb Moments: Being Autistic Please do let us know what you think and share if you find valuable! youtu.be/3O6hy-usIug?...