What is your talk at the Professionals’ Conference about?

My talk is about neurodiversity affirming practice in early childhood. Like many people, my original training was underpinned by deficit-based approaches to child development and the ways in which children play. Neurodiversity-informed and affirming approaches have enabled me to challenge my own thinking and bias, and to advocate for more humanising and joyful approaches to early education. My talk captures that journey of unlearning and re-learning.

Why is that subject important to you?

This subject is important to me because I believe that all children should have unhurried and joyful childhoods, where their play and development is understood as meaningful. We need to embrace that there are many different developmental pathways we may follow, and each in its own time and space.

Who do you think would find your talks useful? 

Anyone invested in understanding neurodiversity informed and affirming practice from an early childhood perspective (from birth to age eight). It is especially useful for those who want to disrupt and dismantle current oppressive systems in education. Early educators, teachers, specialists and parents/carers usually find my training beneficial to apply to their own context.

What is one thing you would like more people to understand about autism?

I would like people to recognise that autistic child development is an equally valid and unique developmental pathway comprising many dynamic strengths, traits, differences and needs, like a constellation. Being autistic does not make a child less valuable.