Autism and Disability News
'Alternative graduation makes us feel seen'
An alternative graduation event has been held at Sheffield Hallam University for students who would have benefited from a quieter and less formal celebration.
Barber cuts the stress for neurodivergent clients
A barber has created a safe haven for young neurodivergent clients across the North West. Craig Henderson allows them to play, run around and listen to music and even sit on the floor while having a haircut in his shop in Bolton.
The Guardian view on Bridget Phillipson’s sound advice: schools should focus on belonging
"A shift in priorities that emphasises pupil wellbeing not just exam results could improve attendance."
The Guardian has responded to the new Education Secretary, Bridget Phillipson’s move towards trying to improve school attendance rates by focusing on “belonging”, following her speech last week to the Confederation of School Trusts (CST).
‘Carl the Collector,’ a new animated PBS series, features characters with autism
On Thursday, PBS debuts its new children’s program, “Carl the Collector.” Like many TV shows aimed at the under 10 demographic, “Carl” features adorable animated animals who work together to solve problems and learn valuable life lessons. Carl, a kind raccoon who loves to collect things, lives in a fictional world called Fuzzytown with his friends, including twin rabbits, a helpful beaver, a reserved fox and an energetic squirrel.
'I felt broken until my autism diagnosis at 70'
All his life Andrew Davies has had a sense of not fitting in, that he was somehow broken, weird or there was something wrong with him.
That was until he discovered he was autistic at the age of 70.
More families being 'forced' into home education
The children’s commissioner for England believes some families are being "forced" to educate their children at home after a BBC investigation found the number making the switch has doubled in five years.
UK councils received more than 66,000 notifications of children being moved to home education in 2023-2024 - up from 28,000 in 2019-2020, figures from freedom of information (FOI) requests show.
Arts Council England confirms next stage of Reflecting Disability project
Arts Council England has confirmed funding for the next stage of the Reflecting Disability project, to explore the representation of disabled people in children’s books.
Led by disabled people, Reflecting Disability was established last year to build a comprehensive framework through which to consider books for children aged three to 11 and support publishers and creators in the representation of disabled realities.
‘They made him a terrorist’: family of autistic boy cleared of terror charges still searching for answers one year on
Thomas Carrick’s parents wonder what would happen to another child in the same position after a magistrate found he had been ‘groomed’ by the undercover officer.
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