Category: Family

Empowering Advocacy: Neuro-Affirming Support for Your Autistic Young Person at School

By Helen Edgar (Autistic Realms), with David Gray-Hammond & Tanya Adkin Navigating the education system as the parent or carer of an Autistic child can often feel like steering a tiny boat through stormy seas, it can feel impossibly hard and be exhausting. For many families, the challenge isn’t just the school system; it’s the…
Toileting: A Neuroaffirming Approach to Support your Autistic Child

Toileting is not a race. For many Autistic children, the journey may look different. Respecting a child’s pace, sensory needs, and body signals can make all the difference.
Neurodiversity Affirming Reading Recommendations

Looking for neurodiversity-affirming reads? I’ve have a growing collection of books listed by autistic authors, advocates, and researchers. Perfect for parents, professionals, and curious minds alike. Explore stories that affirm, not fix. Neurodivergent voices centred. From education to identity, burnout to belonging.
Autistic Young People: Skills Regression, Burnout or a shift in Monotropic Attentional Resources?

Autistic individuals may not lose skills but instead redirect their monotropic attention toward new interests or areas of development.
What does ‘neuro-affirming’ mean for Autistic young people?

This blog was written by myself, Helen Edgar of @autisticrealms for GROVE. I am delighted to work with Grove Neurodivergent Mentoring and Education as their Training, Education & Resource Specialist. This blog was edited by Jess Garner, GROVE’sFounder/Director. The blog, ‘What does ‘neuro-affirming’ mean for Autistic young people?’ is available to read on GROVE’s website, along with many other resources and information…
Autistic Young People & Friendships

This blog was written by myself, Helen Edgar of @autisticrealms for GROVE. I am delighted to work with Grove Neurodivergent Mentoring and Education as their Training, Education & Resource Specialist. This blog was edited by Jess Garner, GROVE’s Founder/Director. This blog, Autistic Young People and Friendships, is available to read on GROVE’s website (direct link to GROVE’s website…
Radical Resilience

Image of pink flower growing between gaps in pavement. Text:Wild flowers offer hope. Be radically resilient. Find possibilities in-between hard spaces. Be authentic and flourish in adversity. Transform the landscape. Be a wild flower.
Autistic Burnout – Supporting Young People At Home & School

Autistic burnout in young people is real—and recovery starts with understanding. This post offers neuroaffirming ways to spot the signs, reduce demands, and truly support. 💛 #AutisticBurnout #Neuroaffirming #Monotropism #AutisticSupport
Autistic Burnout – Supporting Young People At Home & School

Being autistic is not an illness or a disorder in itself, but being autistic can have an impact on a person’s mental and physical health. This is due to the often unmet needs of living in a world that is generally designed for the well-being of people who are not autistic. In addition, three-quarters of…
Celebrations: Neurodivergent-friendly ideas to help make celebrations a success for the whole family

(A guest blog, originally written for and published by ThePDASpace, May 2023) Family life can be busy and chaotic, and you may feel like you are constantly juggling to try and keep some balance to get through the day and avoid a crisis. Changes to everyday routines, such as celebration days and events, can be…
Neurodiversity Affirming Glossary of Key Words – for families and professionals

(Glossary written & and originally published for THE PDA SPACE SUMMIT 2023 ) A full version of The Neurdodiversity Affirming Glossary is now available on Amazon. This blog is an abbreviated version created for The PDA Space. Language Matters It can be really hard as a parent/carer when you discover that your children are…
Embracing Autistic Children’s Monotropic Flow States

Article originally written and published for Neurodiverse Connection (Sept 2023) Autistic and ADHD people are more likely to be monotropic than the rest of the population (Garau, V. et al., June 2023). This means they focus more energy and resources on fewer interests/tasks/ sensory input at any one time compared to non-autistic polytropic people. Developing a…
Transitions – Supporting young people throughout the day

Recognising the demands of transitions and finding ways to reduce the pressure for the young people you support. Original article written for The PDA Space Recognising the demands of transitions and finding ways to reduce the pressure (thepdaspace.com) July 2023. Corrina Wood (specialist autism practitioner and advisor) has created a great webinar about recognising and…
Low Demand Parenting (for the whole family)

There are a growing number of courses and books discussing the benefits of low-demand parenting strategies. This approach has been adopted by many professionals, such as Dr. Naomi Fisher, who support families. It is becoming increasingly popular amongst parents, especially in neurodivergent communities or in communities where children are struggling with mental health. Many of the low-demand…
Monotropism = Happy Flow State

A guest blog for PDA Space – the original more concise version of this article is here: Monotropism = Happy Flow State (thepdaspace.com) As a parent entering into the realms of Autism, ADHD, PDA or any other neurodivergence it can feel overwhelming. Not just because of the weight those labels hold and possible difficulties with…
Autism is fluid

Autism is not a disorder and does not need fixing or any ‘interventions’. Autism comes under the umbrella of neurodivergence, it is a different way of thinking, interacting and responding to people and the world. Nick Walker (2021) in her book Neuroqueer Heresies, states; ‘Autism is a genetically-based human neurological variant…..autistic individual’s subjective experience can…
Supporting neurodivergent students who are struggling to attend school

Data shows that the number of pupils with identified SEND needs are rising. There is an increase in the number of pupils diagnosed as being neurodivergent e.g. Autistic, ADHD, Dyslexic, PDA or with sensory processing difficulties. We are also in the midst of a huge education attendance crisis demonstrated by the rising numbers of students…
Supporting pupils through Autistic Burnout (Teacher Guide)

Autistic Burnout: A Family Guide is available here: Shop | Autisticrealms Embracing Monotropism and Supporting Young People To Help Prevent Autistic Burnout (Edgar, 2023) is available via Amazon. My updated version of ‘Supporting your Young Person through Autistic Burnout‘ is available via Thinking Person’s Guide to Autism website, (Sept 2023). Autistic Burnout Autistic…
Supporting autistic students experiencing OCD in a school setting

The National Autistic Society School report 2021 confirmed, ‘There are over 160,000 autistic pupils in schools across England. Over 70% are in mainstream school, with the rest in specialist education, home educated or out of education altogether’. This figure is likely to be much higher as there are many more who are either on…
Autism, OCD, Alexithymia & Interoception

Autism is a difference of neurotype and many autistic people refer to themselves as being neurodivergent. Neurodivergent people process, interpret and respond to the world in a way that is different to the neuromajority /neurotypical person. Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is characterized by recurrent, unwanted thoughts (obsessions) or repetitive behaviors (compulsions). Some individuals can experience both…
Supporting Children through Autistic Burnout (Parent/Carer Guide)

(This is written from lived experience as a parent and teacher, supported by the amazing research of professionals and advocates in this field. I’m not a therapist or medical professional). Autistic Burnout: A Family Guide 137 page resource is available in my shop. An updated 2024 version of this article is available here published…
Parent ideas for autistic children struggling with school attendance

If your child is autistic, then they are more likely to have additional anxiety, social, communication and sensory processing difficulties. Consequently, school can be a difficult and overwhelming place for them to be if they are not in the right environment with teachers that fully understand them or have the right provision to meet…
Ideas for Autistic Children who are Struggling at School

It can be difficult for autistic children to access an appropriate education and challenging for their parents to navigate the various paths to get their child an education that meets their needs. No one wants their child to just survive in school, all our children should be able to thrive in the…