Social Stencil

Proud YLB Sponsor, third year running! Looking forward to deep diving and celebrating neurodiversity and the incredible advocacy achieved by YLB year on year!

The Evolution of Listening Practices in Schools: A Call for Change.
Decades ago, "Whole Body Listening" was a social concept that many believed to be helpful in explicitly instructing students on how to listen. Many, including me!
However, we now understand that this approach is neuronormative, and a behavior management tool rather than genuinely reflecting how we listen. Listening takes many forms.
So if you come across one of the old outdated whole body listening posters from the Social Stencil or Friendship Saver Program, let’s use it as an opportunity to help people understand why it needs to be replaced.
The new Listening for Learning poster is available free to download via the Social Stencil portal.
We all did the best we could with what we knew at the time, and now we know better. Let’s do better together!

Additional note - against trends I’m not adding music to this post because it makes it harder for some of us to regulate attention!

Is your birthday invitation up with the times or old school? Did you know, as of this moment, we’ve raised the bar on social etiquette! Social etiquette means inclusive! And why stop at social invitations? All event forms can include these very important two words. Yep, let’s just add two words ‘individual needs’ after dietary needs. Small addition, big beautiful change!

Join me this June for the next one-day facilitator workshop! Loving the accessible location, ample free parking, lovely easy breezy service and stunning, calming view of the green. Perfecto for a day of learning and connection. For full details and to book, head to https://www.socialstencil.com/kewworkshop-1

We’re loving the easy freeway accessibility, free ample parking and green relaxed view at the Kew Golf Club so I’m back again for the fourth time in as many months. Join me this June for Social Stencil One-Day Workshop!

Unmasking AKA Just be Yourself, hold yourself with confidence and set the tone for the room you walk into whenever you feel safe enough and strong enough to do so. And when you do, your impact is profound because of the permission and care you then create for others. Happy Friday to all!

Each term Social Stencil facilitators are invited to a Social Stencil extension webinar. This Wednesday, it’s all about Neuroaffirming, engaging Social Groups - one of my favourite spaces to integrate opportunities for authentic connections with interesting group based experiences, all sprinkled with Social Stencil concepts along the way. If you are a facilitator and want to join, send me an email for the training webinar link. Strictly for facilitators only.

It’s a great moment to pause and reflect on the large-scale shift that’s beginning to happen across Australia and around the world.

It’s important to celebrate the progress being made, while also seeing this week as an opportunity to tap a few more people on the shoulder and say, hey—this isn’t scary. It’s not an alternative theory. It’s humanistic, kind, and very possible.

If you’re new to neurodiversity and neuroaffirming models of care, reach out. I can connect you with schools and clinicians who can show you what this looks like in practice—and how it can help.