Spectrum First

Save the date! Spectrum First and York Disability Rights Forum are hosting another ND Parent Uprising event in January.

Massive thanks to Spark:York CIC for hosting this event for us!

ND Parent Uprising January Meet Up

Who: This event is for parents of neurodivergent children to be part of a supportive space, after the festive period.

When: 11:30am - 2:30pm 16th January 2025

Where: SPARK: York, 17-21 Piccadilly, YOI 9PB

Neurodivergent includes: Autism, ADHD, SPLD, OCD, Tourette's, Dyslexia and many other conditions. If you are unsure whether your child is ND come along and chat anyway!

Agenda
11:30am - 12:30am Warm welcome (come and meet other parents, ask questions and chat)

12:30pm - 1:00pm Sensory differences and neurodiversity presentation (find out more about your child's sensory experience)

1:00pm - 1:30pm Q&A With YDRF and Spectrum First (meet the team and ask questions about anything neurodiversity related)

1:30pm - 2:30pm Open drop in space (chat to us and each other )

Where: SHOW Space at the back of SPARK on the Ist floor. Lift available.

ND Parent Uprising is a project started by the YDRF ND subgroup in recognition of the fact that parents of ND kids often feel isolated and alone in their experiences.

Constantly fighting systems (schools, local authority, GPS, CAMHS, and many others) means that parents have limited time, energy or motivation to maintain social connections with those who may not understand.

We believe that parents coming together in solidarity and sharing their experiences is tranformative. Parents have found previous events invaluable as they come to recognise that others are in the same boat and just get it.

If you have any questions you can email YDRF - [email protected]

💜 We love this quote in training! 💜

Are there any quotes that you relate to?

Outside of training I'm partial to an Alice in Wonderland quote, probably because many of them sum up my household... 🦩🌹🎩

Last minute reminder for any parents in York tomorrow! This free drop in is designed to answer questions and provide support around sensory differences.

Thrilled to have the support of Portakabin for this event 🥰

Sensory space inside a tent that we created this weekend for Wellnergy festival.

Customisable colours from the lights, temperature controlled, fidget toys to hand, trained staff on site and soft furnishings amongst other things! 🥰

So, this morning my ADHD child refused to go to school (again).

At 14 years old, there is nothing I can do to “make” him go for a start (just for anybody who wants to jump straight into parent shaming).

School attendance is lower than ever at the moment and being called a ‘crisis’. A lot of emphasis is put on the parents and children to fix this, but the way in which neurodivergent children are supported HAS to improve if this is going to change.

This morning I sent an email to school asking them how they can justify the series of events that have led to this issue:

❌ A new school policy, which started after he has attended the same school for 3 years (new headteacher). So he is struggling to adapt behaviour that took him much longer to learn than other non-neurodivergent children.

❌ Persistent Disruptive Behaviour codes (PDBs), which are often handed out for talking to other people in class, but more often than not for low level behaviour “issues”, all of which are caused by the school environment being terrible for ADHD children (don’t have the space to list why the environment is wrong here).

❌ 5 PDBs for him result in a day of reflection - sitting alone, having to copy out of text books for a full day, missing breaks and lunchtimes (but it’s ok, because someone takes him for a walk every hour, like a pet dog)

❌ If he doesn’t “pass” reflection he gets excluded (also a new rule)

Bearing in mind ALL the studies that show ALL the evidence about negative outcomes for ADHD (and autistic) people: imprisonment, benefits, addiction, poor mental health etc, it is fairly clear to see how and where this cycle begins.

I would be very grateful for people sharing this post and other parents of neurodivergent or excluded (but possibly undiagnosed) children commenting on their own school experiences, because I don’t just want to challenge my child’s school now, I want to challenge all of them.

(This is not a post blaming teachers)

Replace bananas/banana bread with any kind of leftovers I think I will use and this describes my life (fridge!) 🙈😂

We are proud to announce a new research collaboration between the Institute for Social Justice at York St. John University and Spectrum First Education!

We are especially excited to share the new Research Assistant post that has been created for the project: https://jobs.yorksj.ac.uk/vacancy.aspx?ref=205-23

Researchers with lived experience of neurodivergence are strongly encouraged to apply!

The Social Justice Institute’s mission is to fund collaborative research and practice that seeks to identify, expose and address some of the inequalities, injustices and challenges facing society today.

This will certainly be the case with our project, which will see Dr Lorna Hamilton, Dr Stephanie Petty and Spectrum First collaborate with neurodivergent students and educators. The overarching aim will be to identify the hidden barriers in Universities and develop practical and achievable practices to address them.

We will be sharing more information as the project develops, but we would love to hear from you if you would like to be involved!

Job Opportunity at York St John University: Research Assistant: ISJ Community Research Grants: Spectrum First Part time fixed term Location: York Salary: £32,982  to £38,205 per annum (£13,192 to £15,282 pro rata) York St John is an ambitious, modern university at the heart of historic York and there has never...

Not that I’m a fan of public speaking, but happy to have been invited to discuss some of the employment statistics for autistic and ADHD people and what can be done to support them!

Is your business struggling to recruit and retain talent? Come along to Recruitment and Retention Reimagined, a free event helping York’s businesses thrive through being . 🚀

Expect to hear from a variety of fantastic organisations, ranging from Spectrum First to The Grand Hotel & Spa York. Our keynote speaker is former rugby international and airline pilot-turned consultant Tony Underwood, who'll be sharing his tips for nurturing high-flying teams. 🏉

Book your tickets here 👇 https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/recruitment-and-retention-reimagined-tickets-703195997157?aff=oddtdtcreator
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Amazing to have this support from Dr Alex George yesterday! The neuroinclusive safe space was used consistently throughout the day at Wellnergy Festival and we met so many amazing neurodivergent people!

As a company, you all know we don’t stop here though; reflect, research and always keep striving for best practice in the support we offer, so watch this space ❤️






https://www.instagram.com/p/CtmAvzssRYl/?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

Shoutout from Dr Alex himself!! It was great to meet Dr Alex and hear about his experience with ADHD #wellnergy #inclusive #education #wellnergy

Our partner discount if anybody wants to come and hang out at Wellnergy Festival on Saturday in our neuroinclusive space ❤️😎 Link for tickets in the comments!