Testimonials for Autistic Realms

Testimonials gathered from National Diversity Awards nomination feedback 2024 and 2025.

Feel free to vote for me and others here:

Helen is breaking new ground in the dismantling of neuronormativity while working tirelessly to grow and deliver her practice as an Autistic Advocate.

I have known of Helen’s work for over 20 years and she has had real impact in helping children and families.

Helen has used her personal experience of raising her family and late diagnosis to create a neuro affirming language and approaches to worrying with young people and their families .

Helen demonstrates an overwhelming commitment to the development of her work despite the challenges of daily living and raising a neurodivergent family. She is an outstanding practitioner in the teaching profession who has impacted immeasurably the lives of so many children and families during her SEND career. Helen is evidently a gifted researcher and writer who has influenced many thousands of people through her work and relentless efforts in raising awareness of what is an under- researched area and has made information accessible and meaningful for so many.

Helen works tirelessly to provide a wide range of free resources to support parents, educators, and neurodivergent individuals. She is also actively involved in several groups that advocate for neuro-affirming practices, supporting a diverse range of individuals. I haven’t met anyone as dedicated to improving the lives of disabled individuals as Helen is.

Helen’s work is so thoughtful and necessary I often signpost people in carers groups and autistic adult groups alike. Her passion and compassion shine through in equal measure.

Helen’s blogs have provided invaluable support, reassurance and guidance on dealing with burnout and navigating the barriers of the educational system for children.

Helen is brilliant; she has helped so many parents/carers of autistic children and given them hope and advice on how to help their children better and to support them better.

Helen dedicates so much energy to her work. Her knowledge is outstanding and she shares this, to help others understand and learn. She is a brilliant role model.

I know Helen’s work, as an advocate and writer. She is doing important work expanding resources for autistics and other disabled communities. She creates community and knowledge, helping destigmatize autistic ways of being and learning. And as someone who is autistic herself who is caring for two Neurodivergent children while also sharing her writing on monotropism and educational access, she is a role model for how to self-advocate and thrive in a world not designed for us. I can’t think of anyone more deserving of this award. As someone who is also late diagnosed auristic, I have gained a lot from knowing Helen through her work and writing. We connected via CASY and have collaborated on writing projects. All best, Julia Lee Barclay-Morton, PhD

I have followed Helen on social media for a long time now her neuro affirming approach is refreshing and so needed. She makes people feel seen and heard and always encourages people to be their autistic, authentic selves.

Her posts and information sharing is so relevant and helpful to me as SEN practitioner, working with children and families through portage. She truly deserves this, such a passionate and inspiring lady.

Helen is completely accepting of everyone and welcoming. She finds ways to help people feel involved

Helen is an amazing colleague and collaborator with Cultural Autism Studies at Yale!

Really helping me to reflect on my practice and work in ways which truly celebrate abundance support unique ways of being. As a parent and teacher working to support autistic culture and wellbeing your work is fantastic. It feels right and brings joy. Thank you.

Helen’s knowledge is just immense. Her values and principles shine through and her commitment to sharing understanding is huge. Her map in conjunction with Stimpunks was just so so brilliant. But she’s humble too. And I love that.

Helen is a great advocate and source of neuroaffirmative information for neurodivergent people, their families and the professionals who work with them.

Helen Edgar’s writings have taught me so much, and they are so accessible that I often share them with people just starting to learn about neurodivergence and disability too.

Helen’s work around neurodivergence is nothing short of incredible. She has worked her neurodivergent little (seam free sensory) socks off to build trusted relationships with young people navigating their lives through a neurotypical jungle. What she does is build up confidence, self esteem and resilience within neurodivergent people and help them find their own way in life. She is a fantastic role model and me to for so many people.

Helen has helped my mum to understand my sister and I better, as we are both autistic. My mum has learnt more strategies on how to support us, when we are in burnout, due to Helen’s work. We are grateful for all the work that she does and shares with the autistic community, so that parents have accounts of lived experiences of actually autistic individuals.

Helen’s work is making a real, lasting impact on the neurodivergent community. As an Autistic advocate, educator, and parent to neurodivergent children, Helen brings both personal experience and professional expertise to everything she does. Through Autistic Realms and her extensive collaborations with organisations like Thriving Autistic, GROVE, and Spectrum Gaming, Helen is actively changing the conversation around neurodiversity in education and healthcare. She promotes neuro-affirming practices, raises awareness of the challenges neurodivergent individuals face—especially in accessing education—and provides invaluable resources to families, professionals, and communities. Her advocacy around monotropism, burnout, and barriers to education has been widely recognised and shared across NHS trusts, local authorities, schools, and international networks. Helen is not just raising awareness—she is driving real change, ensuring that neurodivergent voices are heard and that support systems evolve to meet their needs. Her dedication, expertise, and relentless passion for inclusion and understanding make her a truly deserving nominee.

Helen has worked tirelessly to develop resources that support parents/carers and professionals to better understand the autistic experience. Her work on Monotropism and burnout have been especially impactful for understanding autistic children and young people who may be experiencing barriers to school attendance. I have no doubt that for some families the work that Helen has done it lifechanging. Helen has also produced most of this for free.

I have learnt so much from Helen that will help me to support my children. Her work is accessible but of a high standard that I can share with my children’s school and grandparents alike. It’s even helped me to understand my own autism and advocate for my own support needs. Helen does all this from a place of kind curiosity completely none judgemental.

Helen has impacted my own family’s understanding of our children’s experience more than she will ever know. The empathy and compassion with which she approaches every aspect of her work shines through. I believe that she deserved to be thanked and celebrated for the immense support she has given so many families with her writing and advocacy work.

Helen (Autistic Realms) and the information she researches and shares with the wider community is pivotal for young and older people who are searching real understanding and personal advocacy about neurodiversity.

As a director and steering group members of a parent carer forum I am forever sharing the amazing resources Helen from Autistic Realms creates . Lots of our 950 members love the resources we share from Autistic realms including linking them to your autistic burn out guide ! Incredible work and well deserved nomination Good luck !

Helen’s well formated, easy to read online resources are a vital source of much needed information for parent communities. Those of us whose autistic children have had their needs ignored and have lacked support from schools or CAMHS can feel scared and isolated. Reading Helen’s information on monotropism or autistic burnout transforms our understanding and signposts further support. As a member of several online groups, including the Autistic Girls Network, I very frequently read posts from parents who are seriously worried about their autistic children’s mental health and behaviour. It is quick and easy to share a link to Helen’s site. I know that for many of us, reading Helen’s information has been the key to turning very worrying situations around.

Helen is an amazing advocate, educator and peer support. She helped me personally, through a really tough time. She has a neuroaffirming approach and her skills and knowledge are priceless!!!!

Helen is a passionate and engaged activist and advocate for the Autistic community. Her work around educational spaces and neurodiversity has the potential to change many things for the better, and for that reason, I really believe that by winning this award she would be in a stronger position to advance the cause and benefit Autistic and otherwise neurodivergent children up and down the UK.

What can I say about Helen? Not enough! In the short time she has been active, her pages, her insight and passion are actively changing the understanding of what it means to be Autistic across so manty areas. Her images, resources and collaborations are reframing and informing so any in being Neuroaffirming and inclusive. She is just simply lush!

Helen creates fantastic resources for the community that are easy to understand , easy to share and much of her work is shared for free. Helen is an awesome Positive Role Model.

Outstanding representation of autism throughout her work. Her passion to raising autistic voice is tireless. Her visuals and memes give powerful insight to those new to key autistic concepts while validating the lived experience of so many of us within the autistic community.

Helen’s tireless advocacy for autistic and neurodivergent people is helping to flip the narrative about their strengths, preferences, and needs. She continues to create and share a range of research summaries, accessible resources, and signposts to other neurodivergent-affirming practitioners.

Helen is powerfully poignant in everything she does. Her humanity shines so brightly and her integrity is front and centre. Helen brings light to a much needed space, often at the edges of society still, where we see so many people ignored, and pushed aside. She has worked tirelessly to change the lens and view and more than deserves this award, there should be one for the most brave positive role model, which is who she is daily.

Helen has worked for over 20 years as a teacher for children with special needs. She has tirelessly supported children and their families to ensure that they are supported appropriately in school and at home. She has been a leading professional in the development of curriculum and training for a range of staff across education, health and social care.

Helen creates invaluable resources that benefit the community. She is a seemingly bottomless pool of knowledge and has helped countless people

Helen is a great educator and is a vital resource for autistic families.

She has been an inspiration to me. I’m a late diagnosed autistic woman and she has been truly inspiring

Helen is totally committed to supporting families and communicating effective strategies for helping children and their families to cope and grow.

Helen is a fabulous role model and advocate for neurodiversity. The material Helen shares is always really clear, interesting to read and very useful.

Helen is a passionate and engaged activist and advocate for the Autistic community. Her work around educational spaces and neurodiversity has the potential to change many things for the better, and for that reason, I really believe that by winning this award she would be in a stronger position to advance the cause and benefit Autistic and otherwise neurodivergent children up and down the UK.

Outstanding representation of autism throughout her work. Her passion to raising autistic voice is tireless. Her visuals and memes give powerful insight to those new to key autistic concepts while validating the lived experience of so many of us within the autistic community.

Helen’s tireless advocacy for autistic and neurodivergent people is helping to flip the narrative about their strengths, preferences, and needs. She continues to create and share a range of research summaries, accessible resources, and signposts to other neurodivergent-affirming practitioners.

Helen is totally committed to supporting families and communicating effective strategies for helping children and their families to cope and grow.

Helen is a fabulous role model and advocate for neurodiversity. The material Helen shares is always really clear, interesting to read and very useful.

Helen works so hard to promote understanding of neurodiversty and in providing vital support to those who need it

Well-needed support for autistic families.

Helen is amazing! Her knowledge and understanding is inspirational. The support she has gave me and the things I have learnt from her I will forever be grateful for.