C Baird Consultancy

Really good article on the link between hormone levels and ADHD.

www.linkedin.com

It’s a long read, but it’s well worth it. Non attendance at school is not always because a child does not WANT to go. Sometimes it’s because they CAN’T go.

‘Children are holding a mirror up to us’: why are Britain’s kids refusing to go to school? For many, lockdown was a relief. Some never went back at all. As a new academic year begins for most of the UK, more children than ever are worried about returning. What’s being done to get them into the classroom – and is that always the best idea?

Our famous app wheel has been updated! We hope you like it and find it useful when it comes to narrowing down the choice of thousands of literacy support apps out there. Download the new version here www.callscotland.org.uk/downloads/posters-and-leaflets/ipad-apps-for-learners-with-dyslexia/ Let us know if there are any other apps you think should be on the wheel- thanks!

This advert really struck home with us with things we experience on a regular basis. All the things that don’t get noticed because they happen behind the scenes, and then the resulting outward responses that can so easily be misinterpreted.

Well done Vanish.

https://youtu.be/DLuqZn_FMSg

Vanish: Me, My Autism & I Credits: https://bit.ly/3m1h6l1Our Creative Partner: https://bit.ly/doodooc_creativepartnerJoin Us: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/adsofbrandsTwitter: ht...

We’ve been looking into this new reading method and it looks pretty useful. Although the app apparently has a few glitches with pdf’s, it seems like a step up from the more typical Dyslexic friendly fonts.

BR for You. Bionic Reading® App for iOS, Android & Web. Only the Gold award-winning App is good enough. For you. Get Bionic Reading®. Even better. Even more features. But always unique. Like you.

Over the past two years, breathwork has become an increasingly important part of not just my own routines, but also of the strategies which I discuss with our clients. Breathing is something we take for granted - we don't think about it, we just do it. However, it can give us the ability to influence our physical reactions to stressful situations, to improve our mental well-being, and also - conveniently - to keep us alive!

This online event looks to be an amazing opportunity to find out more about how we can improve our own health and well-being by taking control of something we do over 10,000 times a day!

AirHeads Online – A live, interactive crash course in breathwork! FULL DAY Join in a day of fun breathing practices & fast learning! (Feat special guest Gus Hoyt!) AirHeads – The Smartest Way to Learn Breathwork

Sometimes the last thing you want to happen, is to stand out. However, that’s exactly what our education system forces neurodivergent children to do - whether they want it or not. It’s no surprise that so many of our clients talk about their school years as being something traumatic. Something they would never describe as being “the best years of your life”. We need a complete rethink of the system rather than trying to just make adjustments on an individual basis, and then making the individual feel that they’re failing.

When an unusual child meets an inflexible school system, things can go wrong. Then, it's common to locate the problems in the child rather than in the environment. Here's what families tell me about that..

Children who don't fit the mould are told that they need to try harder, make less fuss, be less different. The way that everyone else fits in is held up as what to aspire to - no matter if the child thinks otherwise special arrangements are sometimes made. They come out of class for extra reading, or they stay seated in the hallway when everyone else in class. They might have a special card they can raise in class if they're overwhelmed. They come in late, or leave early

Adults think of these things as support but for children it feels quite different. They feel 'other', and not in a good way. Everyone else does it one way, and they are the stand out, the exception. The other kids notice and they're often not kind, children tell me that they think it's their fault. They don't know why they can't be like everyone else, they just can't. They tell me that they are stupid, or even bad. They tell me they hate being marked out, even when they need it. This often includes their diagnoses.

Sometimes they grow to hate the words which are used to define them, blaming the words for the way that they feel. Sometimes the words are used to bully them - many adults have told me that the word 'special' sends a shiver down their spine.

Their parents are often reframing differences in a positive way. They may have their own diagnoses which they have found life-affirming and liberating.For them, it enables them to find their people and be themselves.They tell their children it's fine to be who they are but for the children, it all seems like hot air. It's not liberating when you find school so anxiety-provoking that you can't go. It's not life-affirming when no one will play with you. Why should you be positive about difference when you'd like to be just one of the gang?

I've worked with dyslexic adults who cry when they tell me of the shame they felt aged seven, when everyone else could read. I've worked with autistic adults who are still upset when they remember being the last one standing, unchosen for P.E because they had no friends.

I remember myself, different at secondary school in so many ways. I didn't want to (and couldn't) be like everyone else, but I was bullied and ostracised for who I was. Adults tried to tell me I was fine as I was, but it was obvious the other teenagers didn't think so.

It's important for parents to be positive about difference, but it's not enough. We can't expect our children to appreciate themselves when their way of being means that they are ostracised. We can't tell them it's okay to learn at their own pace when it so clearly isn't.

We're up against a system which isn't flexible enough. We're up against a set of standards which tell our children that they are failing. We're up against a system which prioritises conformity and compliance, with kids who can't or don't want to conform.

We need a system which starts with an assumption of difference and variation.Where the aim is for each child to end their education knowing that they are ok, just as they are. No matter if they struggle to attend full-time, or if they learn to read when they are 6, 8 or 12.

For that is what our children carry through life with them. They won't remember their GCSE history syllabus in 20 years, but they'll remember how it felt to be laughed at, to be excluded, to be told not to be so silly when they explain how the playground makes them scared.

What would it look like, a system where the priority was for each young person to end school feeling good about themselves, no matter what their differences? It's hard to imagine because it's so far from what we have now. But for me, that is what inclusivity really means.

Word by Dr Naomi Fisher
Illustration by Eliza Fricker (Missing The Mark)

A violinist played for 45 minutes in a New York subway. A handful of people stopped, a couple clapped, and the violinist managed to raise about $30 in tips.

No one knew this, but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the best musicians in the world. In that subway, Joshua played one of the most intricate pieces ever written with a violin worth 3.5 million dollars.

Two days before he played in the subway, Joshua Bell sold out a theater in Boston and the seats averaged about $100.

The experiment proved that the extraordinary in an ordinary environment does not shine and is so often overlooked and undervalued.

There are brilliantly talented people everywhere who aren’t receiving the recognition and reward they deserve. But once they arm themselves with value and confidence and remove themselves from an environment that isn’t serving them, they thrive and grow.

Your gut is telling you something. Listen to it if it’s telling you that where you are isn’t enough!

Go where you are appreciated and valued.
Know Your Worth.

Very interesting article about the challenges and trauma that can occur as a result of gauging success by how well a neurodivergent child is able to fit in with neurotypical systems. For me, one of the most interesting points was about how no neurotypical child is likely to experience trauma as a result of being treated in a way that is beneficial for a neurodivergent child.

Creating a quiet and nurturing environment is not going to cause harm - creating a busy and overwhelming one is, and yet the child who can adapt well to concentrating in a class full of distractions is seen as a success. We’re listening to the wrong message.

It’s the same with workplaces. Just this week I had a discussion with an employee who was expected to work in a busy office “because that was what was in the job description”. This resulted in my client becoming increasingly stressed and anxious to the point that they felt unable to do their job. And yet, 2 years ago, we found that a huge proportion of jobs could easily be done from home with only a few changes.

Adjustments and options need to be there right from the outset - for everybody. We absolutely need to start looking at what changes and supports can be offered, before the lack of them causes a problem.

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/everyday-neurodiversity/202108/are-we-giving-autistic-children-ptsd-school?f&fbclid=IwAR3Ar-27A6ngoTYrcUyzsn_ZOVwT0_Lae6iNxZ7OYKVGlgvDVogiTCHquiQ

Are We Giving Autistic Children PTSD From School? When we don't understand autistic kids we create a toxic environment for them.

Looks like an interesting session for anybody who struggles with managing the impact of strong emotional reactions.

https://www.additudemag.com/webinar/intense-emotions-adult-adhd-strategies/

Live Webinar on February 17: Build Your ADHD Emotional Resilience: Strategies for Adults Who Feel Things Deeply Register below for this free expert webinar on emotional resilience on Thursday, February 17 at 1 pm ET. Sign up and you will receive the free webinar replay link after Feb. 17 as well!

This absolutely needs to happen. To think that some people are waiting not just a year, but 3 or 4 years or more for a diagnosis is outrageous.

Given that we’re talking about people who find vague, ill-defined answers to be unsettling at least, having to wait so long for a diagnosis is only ever going to result in huge trauma.

Worthing mum campaigns for emergency fund to ease backlog after two-year wait for daughter’s autism assessment A Worthing mum who has been waiting two years for her daughter’s autism assessment is campaigning for an emergency fund to help health services deal with the backlog.

Really nice to see a spot on BBC Breakfast on ADHD in women and how it’s dismissed so often as depression or anxiety. There were some lovely interviews….. and then….. right as it ends Sally Nugent says “we all lose our car keys a bit too often….”

Please don’t do this. Don’t put down the daily struggle that ADHD causes by saying how something that is due to ADHD is actually ‘Just’ something that we all experience. Yes Sally, we do all lose things from time to time, but thankfully your colleague Dan recognised that actually there’s a big difference.

Signs of ADHD (and other forms of neurodivergence) get missed because they are attributed to ‘just something that happens to us all’. Personally, I misplace things on occasion. I always know where my car keys are though, because that’s easy for me - I have a routine and it works fine, I don’t need to struggle to maintain that routine on a daily basis. The same isn’t true with ADHD. Seemingly simple actions take a huge conscious effort, and that’s incredibly tiring. Someone who is ADHD really doesn’t want to be late all the time - why would you? They don’t want to lose their keys all the time - why would you? They don’t want to struggle to get the motivation to get out of bed on a bad day, or wash their hair, or speak to someone, or do the thirteen thousand things that are on their task list for that day.

We don’t all lose our car keys the same way. We’re not all “a little bit ADHD/Autistic/OCD/Dyslexic”, so let’s stop dismissing it and start recognising it much better!

BBC

Bit of an ADHD from one of our clients this week.

It's easy to feel swamped by the multitude of emails that we end up being subscribed to. From my point, it's the newsletters that you sign up to to get a discount for your first order, or because there's one article that looks interesting, so you hit 'subscribe'.

Whatever the system is that you use to check your emails, you'll have a 'Search' box somewhere. Try typing "Unsubscribe" into this and you'll find your inbox will be filtered to show you all the lovely emails that you can unsubscribe from! If you're using a mobile phone, you can even find an 'Unsubscribe' button at the very top of some emails along with the text 'This email is from a distribution list' to make it easy to do when the emails come in!

It’s Autistic Pride day - a day for the autistic community to take pride in being themselves, and to celebrate all the wonderful things that happen because of diversity.

https://www.autisticempire.com/autistic-pride/

Autistic Pride - Autistic Empire Autistic Pride Day was first celebrated in 2005 by Aspies for Freedom and it quickly became a global event which is celebrated widely online and offline. AFF modelled the celebration on the gay pride movement. According to Kabie Brook, the co-founder of Autism Rights Group Highland (ARGH), “the mo...

https://www.additudemag.com/rejection-sensitive-dysphoria-adhd-emotional-dysregulation/

New Insights Into Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria Rejection sensitive dysphoria is one manifestation of emotional dysregulation, a common but misunderstood and under-researched symptom of ADHD in adults. Individuals with RSD feel “unbearable” pain as a result of perceived or actual rejection, teasing, or criticism that is not alleviated with co...

I've been listening to quite a few of these podcasts recently and can honestly say that they are incredible. If anybody is looking to understand the impact of Autism on all aspects of an individual's life (and to find out about 'Lion' and 'Bat'), please, take half an hour and have a listen.

This episode in particular has been massively relevant for us lately and has helped us to look at our mealtimes in different way. Much as I never thought to say it, Nutella and Biscoff put together in a sandwich are better than nothing!



https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p091wl6f

1800 Seconds on Autism - The unwritten rules of dinner time - BBC Sounds Christmas, scripting explained … and love for the postie

How to get back to your computer's desktop quickly!

Tech Tips - General Computer Skills 1 - Return to desktop A short video that guides you through two different ways to get quickly and easily back to the desktop of your Windows computer - regardless of how many wind...

Over the years we've lost count of the number of times that we've told someone a 'quick way' to do something on their computer. Often, it's totally unrelated to what training is being delivered - things like how to select a line of text quickly, change the style of some text, or a keyboard shortcut like 'undo'. Sometimes, it seems like these little tips are far more useful than the actual training itself! So, we thought it's high time that we did something about it - and thus our new YouTube channel was born!

We'll be uploading all sorts of little tips and tricks to this as time goes by, but we'll try to group them into common playlists to make it easier to find things that might be useful for you.

Please feel free to share these on your own timeline or let people know about them.

https://youtu.be/sTf9_thxMXE