And so it starts again…mother blaming and autism shaming! #autism

Evening.

It’s Mary Anning’s birthday, so time to share @katebeaton.bsky.social’s brilliant cartoon again.

Thames Water: big bonuses due from emergency £3bn loan ‘withdrawn’ Environment secretary makes announcement after company’s chair said he ‘may have misspoken’ to MPs

No bonus for the execs who gave us the choice of swimming in sh*t or not swimming at all. Good.
www.theguardian.com/business/202...

I am so impressed (and like many others surprised) that the flaws in the children’s wellbeing and schools bill have been raised by peers in @houseoflords.parliament.uk - yet completely denied by this incompetent government. It demonstrates how the education minister is utterly out of her depth.

The Bill That Broke Itself: How the House of Lords Dismantled the Schools Bill A Committee Debate That Struck at the Core of Government Overreach

Yesterday in the House of Lords, the Children’s Wellbeing & Schools Bill faced fierce scrutiny. Peers from all political backgrounds argued that it delivers a far-reaching expansion of state power concealed under a rhetoric of safety &wellbeing.

open.substack.com/pub/britishr...

I have been a bit quiet on here recently but yesterday I received confirmation that I have passed my PhD! I am so relieved and happy!

Really looking forward to this :)

And who they didn't like

Today is #viva day and today I’m adding, to my research playlist…three little birds by #bobmarley as this was playing as I walked into @plymuni.bsky.social #phd

Suicidality in Autistic Adolescents and Adults: Sleep the Unexplored Connection? - PubMed Despite substantial evidence linking insomnia with increased suicidality in non-autistic populations, its role in autism remains under-explored. Poor sleep, most commonly insomnia symptoms (hereafter ...

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39901435/ CW suicide.

This is important. Team writing re the link between lack of sleep, & autistic people taking their own lives from the despair of exhaustion.
This research desperately needs to happen, because there's so much we are getting wrong for autistic people.

Some children with #EHCPs are placed in independent schools as it is deemed the only suitable provision. Adding #SchoolFeeVAT (& even worse #learningsupport #VAT) this option is being removed for children with #SEND that do not have an EHCP. How can the government justify this?

I hope more organisations like @mindcharity.bsky.social make the ethical move to Bluesky.

This is terrifying as a large number of parents report having their concerns about their children dismissed by professionals. The move to make teachers the gatekeepers to neurodiversity assessment is detrimental to children. We know our children. Listen to us #phd #SEND #dyscluded

The impact of this persistent dismissal was significant. It made them feel isolated and dyscluded.
I'm still massively struggling
A roller coaster of emotion.
Everybody
Telling me
I was overegging it
I wasn't talking to anybody
What's the point?
#mothering #unpaidcarers #dyscluded #phd

I love hearing the woodpecker doing their thing when out for an early morning foggy walk with my doggy! 🙏#lovedevon #nature #lovemylabrador #devon

On this day six years ago I was in the @britishlibrary.bsky.social to find a book chapter for my #MSc in nutrition and behaviour dissertation. #mothering #autism #restrictedeating #dyscluded @bournemouthuni.bsky.social

As you get to know your child
You know how to handle them.

Nobody offered to help me.

As well as being dismissed, mothers of autistic children face judgment, when all they want is help and support to understand their child, and how to help them. #mothering #autism #phd #dysclused #send

It's really embarrassing.
You feel like there is judgment
I'm sure
There are some parents who judge,
some who don't,
You feel like there's judgment
You just have to make your apologies
and go.
That's all you can do.

That same mother explained

He had a massive meltdown
Now I understand why
I didn't understand why

I literally had to pick him up
put him underneath my arm
I picked him up
by his waist,
Put him underneath my arm.
That's the only way I can get him out of here.

The women in my research all reported having their concerns dismissed:
You're making a bit of a fuss
You're a first-time mum
You don't understand
It'll be fine
I don't know who to ask
Every time I ask somebody
They just dismiss me
Tell me it's nothing.
#mothering #phd @plymuni.bsky.social

“Open the document,” is the best trick I will ever play on myself. When writing or editing seems totally impossible, just open the document. #ThisDiss #AmWriting

Delighted to have had my paper ‘dyscluded mothers’ accepted for the @IAMAS 2025 conference. #mothering #motheringautisticchildren #unpaidcarers #send #phd @plymuni.bsky.social

Great to see @plymuni.bsky.social has joined the bluesky community #postgraduateresearcher #phd #research #studentlife

Several shared this experience, which also happened to me on several occasions, as the teacher calls them in to speak about their child's behaviour they are made to sit on a chair suitable for a 5 year old: I had to sit there, on the little chair, like a naughty mum. #SEND #autism #dyscluded

During my #phd research conversations, #mothers shared that the school run was their "job"; many dreaded it:
I'm the one who goes & picks up the children & takes them to school. I'm the one who gets told off, at the end of the day, when [my son] has done something wrong.
#unpaidcarers #mothering

Happy Christmas. Wishing our members, partners and colleagues a joyous festive season.

Thank you to all the health and care staff working over the festive period, who have worked tirelessly throughout the year to keep patients and communities safe and well.

Season's greetings from us all 🎄

The normalization of restraint in mainstream media. After numerous official complaints, BBC has refused to acknowledge the harm caused by normalizing dangerous restraints as best practices for young children.

🧵The normalization of restraint has been deeply concerning. ICARS addressed this in response to the BBC documentary Don’t Exclude Me, which showed a 6-year-old being restrained as "best practice." Here's why this was dangerous. 🚨 #AgainstRestraint #DontExCludeMe againstrestraint.com/2022/01/29/t...

ICARS is a family, survivor, and neurodivergent-led advocacy team. Our mission is to continue drafting and advocating for the passage of crucial legislation that end practices such as restraint, seclusion,& institutional abuses inflicted on children. Proud members of Paris Hilton's #SICAA Coalition