Exams will never prepare you for life.. Life will.

Just checking in..

I went to talk this weekend with Rebecca Solnit, a writer, historian and activist. She talked about the slowness of change and how we hold steady in uncertain times with hope and it got me thinking..

We must always be here. Always..x

It's been such a delight to host @elizafricker.bsky.social and our amazing comics and autism team this week! Looking forward to working with you again in the autumn 🙏

My heart and head are full after my stay at Cambridge University. This week I was invited back to finish our project on comics and autism. The conversations and explorations were brilliant and mind expanding.

It was a delight to welcome @elizafricker.bsky.social to the NiES (Neurodiversity in Educational Settings) Master’s Module @camedfac.bsky.social last week, discussing why authentic trust and genuine relationships must be at the heart of inclusion for #neurodivergentlearners

Here’s the books I’ve worked on so far. They are all about neurodivergence, education and parenting. I am a neurodivergent author as well as parent.

A few days off on a road trip with three teenagers to travel around and visit my editor, @drnaomifisher.bsky.social and a democratic school. Place, times and experiences that settle and calm as well as inspire. 💕

Really lovely. Thank you 💕

I've barely started "Can't Not Won't" by @elizafricker.bsky.social and I wish I'd found her two years ago "It should be enough for any child to show they are too unwell to go to school and then we should have choices.. without joining waiting lists that stretch for years" Hear, hear.

I was recently asked to talk about PDA for her new podcast. We talk about the adjustments our children need to thrive. The episode has a lovely title too: Draw the World Differently. podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/d...

I’m not very good at it, never have been. I’m all fingers and thumbs. Clumsy. Impatient. But it’s important, the most precious thing. So, I sit take my time. No idea what I am doing really.

Our new book is OUT NOW. It's an illustrated guide for professionals and it covers how to make schools fit for children, what happens when school goes wrong&working with children outside the school system.Informed by research, professional expertise and lived experience. @elizafricker.bsky.social.

Just ordered this book, looking forward to reading it. @drnaomifisher.bsky.social @elizafricker.bsky.social #edpsychs

Wow. Thanks everyone ✨

When though? How long? How much should I 'push'? These are the questions we ask ourselves. Because we know how hard it is. To imagine them even getting dressed. To travel in a car.

Love seeing my dad’s illustrations at my aunts house. My dad was a political cartoonist in the 1990/00s for national newspapers both for the left and right wing press. My aunt and uncle were both teachers and have a wall of his pieces on education.

🎉🎉🎉Publication Day! 🎉🎉🎉 Very chuffed to have worked on this with @naomicfisher and Abigail Fisher. And thank you to all the contributors who have shown their courage in sharing how they are making important changes to improve young peoples learning experiences.

My favourite 💕

Currently reading 'When the naughty step makes things worse' by @drnaomifisher.bsky.social and @elizafricker.bsky.social and it is just so illuminating. We stumbled across one or two methods by accident/desperation but this book is just so helpful and also is a hug, telling us that it's OK.

So looking forward to discussing this book on Wednesday. There’s still time to reserve your place. Details below 👇

When we are looking for options for other ways to school it can feel hard to know what to look for. What if nothing feels the right fit? When is the right time?

Extract from When the Naughty Step Makes Things Worse: Parenting for Children (and Adults) Who Need Something Different by @drnaomifisher.bsky.social and Eliza Fricker

This is the word that creates arbitrary expectations. That creeps into our thoughts. This is the word that breeds guilt and self doubt. That makes us compare (oh the comparisons that eat us up.)

Because you know what every inch of that room looks like in the dark. Because our search engines are filled with unanswerably questions. Because you know what that face means. Because you have gone to bed and woken up with them same pit in the stomach.

We’re all equal as long as you meet the standardised targets.. Image from A Different Way to Learn by @drnaomifisher.bsky.social

When the situation is complex and nuanced we won't have the answers but the expectation to is huge. I was scared not to know. So I wore myself out, trying to figure it out..

The world is big and scary. Risks are everywhere. Sometimes we fear the worst, want to shut it all down. But the world is also full and brilliant. So instead we make it a place to share, explore, connect. We find ways to make this work.

I’ve mustered the words to write my thoughts on the proposed changes to PIP.. 1/2

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

Delighted to be hosting the launch event for the new title from Abigail Fisher, @drnaomifisher.bsky.social and @elizafricker.bsky.social - What Can We Do When School's Not Working? Please join us for this free online event: Wed 16th April 12 - 1pm www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/book-launc...

Mine was slashed from 25 hours to 8 despite it increasing my earnings and the tax I pay. They gave my support worker one months notice they have said they might need to now claim benefits themselves. www.theguardian.com/politics/202...

Their wit, their observations, attention to detail, their creativity, their thoughtfulness. What are you most proud about your young person? Let’s share the things that make our hearts swell.

There was never a book that didn’t confirm I was doing it all wrong..

As a parent of an 8 yr old with an EHCP and complex needs, reading this on World Book Day has hit hard. Thank you @elizafricker.bsky.social There will be extra hugs at home time.

Remember another change can be too much for those just about coping..

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Sometimes parents tell me that whatever they say, it seems to get pushed back to them. ‘It’s tough getting them to school in the mornings’ ‘Have you tried a visual timetable?’ ‘They are really angry after school’. ‘They’re fine here, have you thought about a sticker chart?’

When our children are struggling we often begin to question ourselves. How we parent, how we were parented, what was childhood really like for us? Could understanding more about our own lives bring better connection to our own children and what they struggle with?

Dept. of Speculation by Jenny Offill ❤️

"Is this it then?" I didn't know what I expected post diagnosis but after years of feeling like my parenting was at fault I now had an answer. I had sat in a room and spoken about difficult things in front of my child and a doctor and now they had told me there was a reason.

‘It’s just a few minutes every day! No one should be struggling with that!’. When a child is finding school hard, it’s not just about 9-3.30. From early on, there’s the expectation that they’ll be doing extra work at home too. Maybe ‘just reading together’ or learning the weekly spellings.

The diagnostic process can be confusing for parents. It's hard to know what to think and feel. You wait for years, and then - what? That's what we're talking about on Thurs. Now What? Diagnosis. @elizafricker.bsky.social and I. It’s recorded. Please share. www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/now-what-d...

Please, just one hour of telly to myself..

After one very gloomy February half term.. ‘Have you tried a visual timetable?’ Sometimes you just want to talk about how it really is, but it is always about a solution, it is always about fixing.

What a brilliant few days of collaboration and thinking and sharing ideas. 😊

We need a plan. We can't just stay here. Everyone needs fresh air. Let's try something else. But it's a 'don't know'. (They don't want to let us down) I'm rushing again. Trying to push it. Perhaps those thoughts have crept back in. No, slow down. Let's just bring the outside in.

Others it is planning. Out on visits. Taking trips. Big days out. Nope, not here, this is.. A week to rest. A week of decompressing. No one loves the time off quite like us. No one needs it quite so much. Here it is just quiet as can be..

“Healing didn’t come from people we only ever saw once” A Kind of Parenting by Eliza Fricker 💕