In this episode I have the privilege of sitting down and recording a chat with a young Autistic man called Zac, who I have supported for a number of years through his transition between mainstream school and into alternative provision. He is wonderfully open and honest about his experiences and able to articulate things that I feel many other Neurodivergent young people have been through, are going through or may go through at points in their lives. I have learnt lots from working with him and am sure this episode will be a great learning resource for parents & professionals supporting Autistic young people with school. As well as hopefully as source of validation and inspiration to other young people. We talk about his challenges through mainstream primary and secondary, experiences of bullying and difficult social interactions. As well as what hasn't helped him in these settings, as well as some things that did for short periods. He gives an insight into what those difficult experiences are like and how they have effected him. Before sharing what has helped him more recently and offering some hope and ideas for others.

In this episode I get the opportunity to interview Alfie Kohn, author of one of my favorite books 'Unconditional parenting' as well as 'Punished by rewards' and several other works. I must admit to being a little starstruck. His work is so important in not just outlining some of the key elements of my own approach to supporting Neurodivergent young people, but also in providing the research and evidence as to why it is so important that we move away from some of the traditional ideas that continue to dominate our education system and advice to parents. For the sake of all our young people, but especially those with Neurodivergence. I hope you enjoy as much as I did.

It's been a while and so in this short episode, I explain future plans for the podcast and have a big announcement to make! Plus, I reveal the next guest I have lined up which for me is a huge one. Someone whose work and ideas follow a very similar perspective to my own and who since discovering, has also influenced it greatly. As a result, aside from the updates and news.....there's a fair bit of my thoughts on punitive and conditional approaches, their risks and why we need another way.

In this episode I chat with Eliza Fricker, creator, illustrator, advocate, blogger and now, in a much more proper sense then me, podcaster. In all of these areas she uses her own lived experience of Neurodivergence and parenting. Eliza's illustrations on her missing the mark facebook page and blog are widely recognised in the Neurodivergent advocacy community for there beautiful pathos and ability to really capture the challenges of both Neurodivergent young people and their parents. I was lucky enough to be introduced to her as part of the 'F that Narrative' lives I was invited to be a part of and since then have been really keen to speak to her on the podcast. When I found out she was branching out into podcasting, I wanted to chat even more.....until I listened and the incredible quality and depth of her podcast totally intimidated me! Yet impulsivity wins the day, we went ahead. It was too late to say 'I can't interview you anymore cos your podcast sounds pro and mine is more basic then a ham sandwich with just butter.' In the end, I'm so glad it did as was great to sit down with someone so like minded, hear about her projects as well as discuss some practical ideas and changes that could be made to improve experiences for Neurodivergent families.

In this 2nd part of my journey to discover if rumours about my Neurodivergence are true, I outline my plan to go about a possible unofficial but thorough self-identification. I have chosen to enlist some help with the diagnostics from a friend who is a clinical psychologist and Dr of psychology, in order to combat my own potential bias if I looked at them myself. In this episode I also discuss some issues I have with these diagnostics and talk about the pre-screening forms I had back from my parents and wife. I share some thoughts on labels as a whole as well as my plans to do a live initial pre-screening with Harry Thompson The PDA Extraordinaire.

In this episode I am joined by Maddie Roberts, who contacted me regarding a petition to stop fines for school absences for parents of SEN children. I am so behind anything that looks at making a positive impact and change for families of Neurodivergent young people, that I wanted to get her on the podcast to discuss the petition and her own personal journey. I am sure many can find connection, validation and hopefully some inspiration from it.

After lots of comments, self-relisations and connections and advice and support from the fantastic Neurodivergent people I am now fortunate enough to work with, it is time for me to explore my own possible Neurodivergence. To be honest. I am just not sure either way. In this episode [recorded at 4am in the gym with my mind whirring....not sure if this is a clue....] I outline what I intend to do and why. It won't be a traditional route. I'm not going for an official diagnosis. I intend to use the process as a learning opportunity and to document it as much as possible in a series of podcasts. Really appreciate any feedback and comments.

A bit of a shift from the usual content for this episode but one I am very proud to have on the podcast. Around this time last year I got chatting to a friend, Pete Howard. We talked and got onto the subject of mental health, of wanting to do something to raise awareness and money. Somehow, a year later we have just completed a marathon by alternatively piggy backing each other! So far we have raised of 3.5k for the charity mind. In this episode I sit down with Pete and also Dom Alford, someone I had never met before the day who showed up at 5am, rode his bike to follow us all the way, grabbing us supplies and generally being a witness and our piggy back angel. Pete shares his own story and challenges around mental health and addiction, we discuss our own thoughts around mental health in general. Dom describes the day from his perspective and we talk about why we took on such a ridiculous task in the first place, what it was like and what it meant to us achieving it. I really enjoyed the conversation and it did actually hammer home a bit more what we had done and why. Please take a listen and share are story if you feel able. We are still raising money for a great cause and if anyone wishes to donate they can do so here: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/piggybackmarathon

Around a year ago I was made aware of a research paper and the work of a fantastic Autistic advocate, author and researcher by the name of Kieran Rose. Some of the connections his paper helped me make around the Autistic experience of masking where truly game changing for me. It helped me understand how stigma and prejudice around what is 'normal' and 'acceptable' in our culture plays a huge part in why Autistic people mask. It also made me question how I have approach teaching things like 'social skills' and giving support and advice to Autistic children and young people in the past, as well as some of the early approaches I used that could well have been feeding into that need to mask for fear of being 'different.' In this episode we chat about this, the paper and some of the problematic ideas that have been part of this issue. As well as trying to get our heads around ways of moving forward. I really enjoyed talking to Kieran and hope you do to. Please like, share and subscribe. Plus positive reviews on itunes and other podcast providers really really help so are hugely appreciated. I want this one to get lots of listens so I can persuade Kieran to talk to me again and work with me in the future but shhhhhhhh, don't tell him! [That's a joke. I realise he may see this and that also my tone doesn't come across in this text.....should probably take all that out....must remember to do that.....]

I am joined in this episode by Linara Tyler, Autistic and PDA Self-Advocate, Relationship Consultant & Mentor. Linara is someone I have bene fortunate enough to run some webinars with and her area of focus is in Attachment styles and how understanding them can play a helpful part in improving your relationships. In this episode, Linara shared some of her own life experiences with me, as well as some really insightful thoughts on her experience as a mother. Then we delved into her area of particular interest, Attachment Styles. She helped me understand them and we even at one point used the contestants on Love Island to help bring it to a level I could manage! I never miss an episode. [We recorded back in the summer]. It's always fun talking to Linara and I learnt a huge amount this episode thanks to her openness.

I am joined by Author, Advocate, parent of 3 Autistic children and Autistic adult Jodie Isitt. Jodie is also the creator of the Nurture programme, an online programme for parents of Neurodivergent children and young people. In this episode, Jodie talks to me about her own diagnosis and reflects on how it impacted her childhood and in school. She shares some real insight into her own experiences of social situations, greetings and eye contact. We also discussed some of the challenges in the current school system regarding neurodiverise and inclusive environments.....I had a bit of a rant about having to pay the school to take my son on holiday.....[which hasn't even happened yet and I'm annoyed already]. We also discussed how her Neurodivergence has been helpful in the work she has gone onto do and how she manages her life and those around to ensure she stays able to continue creating the fantastic projects she has created. Having worked with Jodie a number of times and found her approach to supporting parents both inspiring and reaffirming with the work we do at Neurodive, it was great to chat to her more about her own life experiences. You can find her by heading to facebook and the @thenurtureprogramme, or check out her publications at www.autismwithlove.co.uk. If you enjoyed the episode, please like share and subscribe. To really help, leaving a positive review on itunes and other podcast providers is huge and I really appreciate it.