https://theconversation.com/a-five-day-course-of-magnetic-brain-stimulation-could-help-autistic-children-communicate-better-280623

https://theconversation.com/schools-arent-designed-for-autistic-children-these-are-the-sensory-challenges-they-face-273498

https://theconversation.com/autistic-people-seem-to-feel-joy-differently-heres-what-it-can-tell-us-about-neurodivergence-273403

https://theconversation.com/why-dating-can-be-tough-for-autistic-people-and-what-may-make-it-easier-257534

"Eccentrics Return – Guerilla Autistics Show Year 11 CANCELLED"
https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/eccentrics-return-guerilla-autistics-show-year-11-cancelled

"I'm Autistic – A New Musical"
https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/i-m-autistic-a-new-musical

"Cerys Bradley's Queer Tales for Autistic Folk"
https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/cerys-bradley-s-queer-tales-for-autistic-folk

"1290.5 Steps to Autistic Success – Kittenageddon (Sidequests and ... "
https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/1290-5-steps-to-autistic-success-kittenageddon-sidequests-and-buffering

"Moving On... Really, Really Slowly"
https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/moving-on-really-really-slowly

"Tides (An Autism Story)"
https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/tides-an-autism-story

"Simon Harriyott: Autastic"
https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/simon-harriyott-autastic

"My Life as an "Inspirational ... "
https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/my-life-as-an-inspirational-porn-star

"Hidden Powers"
https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/hidden-powers

"Cartoonopolis"
https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/cartoonopolis

"Ted Hill: 110 Percent Normal"
https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/ted-hill-110-percent-normal

"Bitter Baby"
https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/bitter-baby

"Morgan Rees: Work in Progress"
https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/morgan-rees-work-in-progress

"Jain Edwards: She-Devil"
https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/jain-edwards-she-devil

"Alice-India: See You In Hell"
https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/alice-india-see-you-in-hell

The Bronze Age: Lucy Bronze talks candidly about neurodivergence and proving people wrong

England’s most decorated female footballer has made net gains from not fitting the mould. As the Lionesses enter Euro 2025 as defending champions, Lucy Bronze talks about her team’s chances, life after her ADHD and autism diagnoses and why she doesn’t fear her career’s final whistle

It’s one of spring 2025’s Mediterranean afternoons when the face of Lucy Bronze appears on my laptop screen. The blue of her Chelsea top is a dead ringer for the sky above the London training fields and she’s beaming for reasons unrelated to the weather. The night before we speak, her team trounced Crystal Palace 4-0, edging within touching distance of the Women’s Super League title – a feat they’ll go on to achieve a week later, beating Manchester United with a single headed goal from their star defender. Then she flashes another reason for the grin – a ring on her right hand.

There’s no diamond, but for the athlete once ranked the best female footballer in the world by Uefa and Fifa, this slim black band contains something more precious: data. It’s part of an arsenal of performance-optimising tools – sleep-tracking, saunas, red-light therapy, supplements and installing an at-home ice bath – that the oldest Lioness is using to balance a relentless club schedule with staying at the top of her game ahead of England’s first Euros match against France on 5 July.

A shared enthusiasm for the field Lucy calls ‘small gains’ sees me immediately disregard the first rule of celebrity journalism – delicately break the ice with impersonal small talk. Somehow, our ice-breaker segues straight to the 33-year-old’s ovaries and in less time than it would take to discuss her commute to work, I’m prying into her periods.

‘There’s a phase in my menstrual cycle when I’m physically capable of doing more and can train even harder, it’s insane,’ she tells me of her Euros prep, with an excitability most of us reserve for summer Fridays. ‘Men – they’re just this baseline the whole time. Whereas we can “periodise” training around the four phases of the cycle and get a lot of benefit. Research is quite low-level at the minute…’ Lucy – the sports science graduate – clarifies, in one of many times during our conversation when I feel as if I’m chatting through an article idea with a WH colleague. ‘But it’s like I’ve been given a superpower for a week.’

Euro vision

Most would argue that Lucy’s superpowers are markedly more timeless. Beginning her senior career in 2007, she’s played as a  defender for some of the best clubs in England – Liverpool, Manchester City and, since 2024, Chelsea – plus European powerhouses Barcelona and Lyon. (Adding Spanish and French skills to being raised bilingual by her Portuguese father, Lucy – real name Lucia – often translates for Chelsea’s international players). After Chelsea won the FA Cup last month, she became the first player to win the domestic treble – three major domestic competitions within the same season – in three countries and she’s won the Champions League five times (for context, my husband credits the elation of Barcelona winning the Champions League one year as the reason he proposed to me). An England staple since 2013, Lucy became a household name as a cornerstone of the team that beat Germany to win Euro 2022.

Does having brought football home once already ease some of the pressure going into this tournament, I wonder, or pile on even more? ‘It’s a bit of everything,’ she reflects. ‘What we’ve spoken about [as a team] is that we admire what we’ve done in the past, being the Euros winners. But we’re a “new England” going into this and we’ll create our own history.’ The squad’s self-proclaimed ‘bossy mum’, Lucy hopes this new England approach will lighten the load for the new Lioness cubs. ‘There are people going to the Euros and it’ll be their first ever tournament wearing an England shirt. You want them to enjoy that. And I think taking away that pressure is a great way for them to do it.’

Ahead of the competition in Switzerland – ‘10 days when the only time we’re apart is when we go to bed’ (and yes, Lucy smiles, they do get a bit sick of each other) – squad contact stays within the group chat. Club matches ended in mid-May, when players were granted 10 days’ holiday. But while she suspects some of her teammates will give short shrift to manager Sarina Wiegman’s plea to ‘be sensible’ when they’re OOO (‘the girls tend to do what they want,’ she laughs), Lucy’s eyes are never far from the prize. ‘Yeah, I’m always thinking about the Euros,’ she confirms. ‘I can’t not think about it. Everything I do is to play in the Euros and win the Euros. Though people who know me know that I am a little bit obsessed.’

Gatekeeping

I suspect that ‘little bit’ is doing a lot of heavy lifting. Lucy’s fixation with football began in Northumberland in the 00s, when the sport became her salvation. ‘I got bullied when I was younger and had to move schools,’ she shares, of the worst of that time. Dyslexia frustrated written tasks, but she was smart, competitive and a natural at numbers – with cognitive processing that was steps ahead. ‘All these things could have been seen or used as a strength of mine, but they made me seem like a problem. It was, “She’s arrogant, she’s bossy, she’s not listening to others.” I wasn’t listening to others. But it wasn’t because I didn’t care, it was because I knew I was right.’

Police arrested autistic activist in supported housing as part of Quaker raid operation

Exclusive: Joe Booth, 23, says he has PTSD after arrest in which seven officers entered his flat when he was in bed

Daniel Boffey Chief reporter
Sun 22 Jun 2025 07.00 BST

The Met police operation in which officers raided a Quaker meeting house also resulted in the arrest of an autistic climate activist at his supported accommodation, the Guardian can reveal.

Joe Booth, 23, was in bed when seven police officers arrived at the flats for vulnerable adults in New Barnet, north London, to arrest him on suspicion of conspiracy to cause a public nuisance.

The arrest appeared to be linked to his attendance at weekly meetings of Youth Demand, an off-shoot of Just Stop Oil that describes itself as a nonviolent protest movement.

The evening before his arrest, up to 30 Met officers broke down the front door of a Quaker meeting house to arrest six female members of the group in what appears to be a linked raid.

It is thought to be the first time that police had forced their way into a place of worship used by the pacifist Quaker movement. The raid has been heavily criticised by politicians, campaigners and religious groups.

Booth, who claims to have never been involved in disruptive protest and to have previously attended one peaceful Youth Demand march on Downing Street, said the arrest had left him with post-traumatic stress disorder.

He said the officers who arrested him appeared to be surprised that he lived in supported accommodation for vulnerable adults.

After a support worker let the police into his flat, an officer had grabbed his arm, he claimed, and asked whether “I need to put you in handcuffs” before reading him his rights.

“They did not know until they turned up that I lived in supported accommodation,” claimed Booth, who is a cleaner on the London underground. “When they arrested me, they said to me: ‘Joe, is this supported accommodation?’ They didn’t know. You would think there would be a system in place when they are going to an address to say this is a care setting.”

Booth was in his pyjamas when the police arrived. They searched his bedroom and seized his work phone. He was then taken on a two-hour drive to Kingston police station where he was questioned and held for more than seven hours.

He was released on police bail with conditions that included a ban on him entering Westminster.

Booth, whose brother was allowed to attend the police interview as an “appropriate adult” due to his vulnerability, said: “They showed me pictures of protests that I wasn’t even in. They showed me pictures of [information about] upcoming events, only a few of which were actually protests, the other which were just meetings and free food events. So they didn’t tell me at any point what evidence they had on me and why they got me and how they even knew my face.”

He had previously attended Youth Demand meetings at the Quaker meeting hall on St Martin’s Lane in London where attenders enjoyed a spread of jasmine tea, ginger biscuits and a selection of vegan cheese straws.

Youth Demand had been planning a series of 10-minute protests as part of a “Shut Down London” campaign and Booth had handed out leaflets promoting the group’s actions in opposition to arms sales to Israel and a lack of action on fossil-fuel harm, he said.

Booth, whose father is John Leach, the assistant general secretary of the RMT union, claimed: “I was only planning to spread news of the events. I’m not at a stage in my life where I’m ready to risk going to prison.

“Like all autistic people, I can often struggle to understand certain messages that are told to me, which is why I often need staff with me when I receive letters, because I interpret things differently and I also can’t survive without structure and routine. So when that gets disrupted by ongoing issues that becomes a problem.”

Booth said the arrest, which will raise fresh questions about the overpolicing of protest groups, had seriously affected his mental health.

He said: “Every time I hear noise in the corridor, even from a distance, I get scared that it might be police, especially when there’s a knock at my door, especially if that knock at my door is early in the morning.

“But even if it’s just from support staff or Amazon delivery or whatever, I get scared that it might be police. So my alertness has increased and my anxiety has increased. And I see a therapist every single week, because I always have and he’s in full knowledge of how it’s been affecting me.”

Booth had previously been arrested in June 2024 on the same grounds after attending Just Stop Oil meetings, he said, but again released on police bail without charge. Booth claimed he had never been involved in their disruptive activities. “I remember specifically going to meetings and saying, ‘I have not been at a protest,’” he said. “It has left me bewildered.”

It is understood that the Met believed Booth had been involved in disruptive protest in the past, which he denies.

A Met police spokesperson said: “Youth Demand stated an intention to ‘shut down’ London over the month of April.

“We have a responsibility to intervene to disrupt and prevent activity that crosses the line from lawful protest into criminality and serious disruption that adversely impacts the lives of ordinary Londoners.

“The proactive police activity on Thursday 27 March and Friday 28 March took place on the basis of intelligence that those arrested were involved in conspiring to cause serious disruption. They remain on bail while our investigations continue.

“Officers will always take into account an arrested person’s mental and physical health, carrying out full risk assessments to ensure they can be cared for appropriately while in police custody. Those processes were followed in this case.”

Source: The Guardian

https://theconversation.com/everyone-isnt-a-little-bit-autistic-heres-why-this-notion-is-harmful-256129

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0bbnh47

Also available on iPlayer.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/m002bswl

Available on BBC Sounds and also it says on Radio 4 at 13:45 hours each day, on the week begining Monday 5th May 2025.

https://theconversation.com/what-autistic-people-think-should-be-prioritised-in-education-for-autistic-learners-250195

https://theconversation.com/autistic-stimming-explained-and-why-stopping-it-can-lead-to-burnout-252088

"This is not a disability gig": the musician putting on inclusive nights to break down barriers

Musician Robyn Steward, who has 10 disabilities, including autism and cerebral palsy, explains how venues can be more inclusive

By Sam Davies

Thursday, 21st November 2019

Ambiguous interview questions and application forms are keeping autistic people out of work, a report has found.

While 53.6% of all disabled people are in work, only 30% of autistic people are, the latest official figures show.

One autistic person told BBC News having more tick-boxes in applications might help him to land an interview.

The government has urged employers to "get behind" all recommendations set out in Sir Robert Buckland's report on autism in the workplace. ... "

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-68381352

Link to Sir Robert Buckland's report:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-buckland-review-of-autism-employment-report-and-recommendations/the-buckland-review-of-autism-employment-report-and-recommendations

... By changing the environment around her, rather than her own brain chemistry, McMurtry found the freedom to exist and perform unhindered.

Together with the panel, she drew up a three-point plan. The team nutritionist was asked to provide McMurtry with bland food, as highly flavoured or spiced options were overwhelming. The coaches were asked to avoid asking her open-ended questions in the morning and to provide a sum-up at the end of team briefings to ensure they had been understood. ... ":

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rowing/68554234

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cwyplxe6069o

Some of Keith's art:

https://keithdruryart.com/neurodiversity

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m002535k

Will likely be able to listen to this for a few weeks after its original broadcast.

The programme visited the " Aubergine Café" in Cardiff, which is owned and run by autistic individuals, to meet the staff who explain why the café is needed and how it provides a better workplace for neurodivergent people.

It also featured expert dietitian David Rex, who supports children with autism facing eating challenges.

At The Holmewood School in north London, a specialist school for neurodivergent children, teachers and students share with Leyla how their new food technology kitchen is transforming some children's relationship with food, while also building skills and pride.

The programme can be accessed at:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0023yfp

It can also be downloaded.

https://theconversation.com/how-autistic-and-non-autistic-people-can-understand-each-other-better-234320

https://theconversation.com/what-is-audhd-5-important-things-to-know-when-someone-has-both-autism-and-adhd-233095

https://www.skillsforcare.org.uk/resources/documents/Developing-your-workforce/Care-topics/Supporting-people-with-challenging-or-distressed/NAT-and-SfC-Recognising-Behaviour-as-Distress-in-Practice-discussion-paper.pdf

"Scottish Autism in partnership with the National Autistic Taskforce are delighted to showcase our new AutNav app, specifically created for autistic people.

The app has been developed in line with the vision of the late Dr Dinah Murray, who was passionate about supporting the rights of autistic people with profound communication difficulties, often supported in long-term residential care, and saw AutNav as a method to enable people to communicate their interests, and interact with friends and wider family. ... ".

Link:

https://www.scottishautism.org/services-support/autnav

As part of our series on reading identity, PhD researcher Charlotte Webber shares her insights and experiences of reading as an Autistic person.   ... ":

https://www.scottishbooktrust.com/articles/reading-and-being-autistic

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/topics/cwlw3xz045jt

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001vtn5

"A Hidden Pattern in Children's Eyes Can Reveal if They Have Autism":

https://www.sciencealert.com/a-hidden-pattern-in-childrens-eyes-can-reveal-if-they-have-autism

"Can Artificial Intelligence Detect Autism?":

https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/blog/the-science-of-autism/202312/can-artificial-intelligence-detect-autism

https://www.bbc.co.uk/ideas/playlists/my-autistic-self

Four short video clipsabout people on the autistic spectrum.

https://theconversation.com/greta-thunberg-is-far-from-the-only-neurodivergent-climate-activist-many-who-see-the-world-differently-also-want-to-change-it-210492

The article contains a section about Autistic traits and activism.

https://wellcomecollection.org/search/stories?query=autism

https://theconversation.com/like-many-women-i-didnt-know-i-was-autistic-until-adulthood-how-late-diagnosis-can-hurt-mental-health-and-self-image-212561

https://theconversation.com/how-the-tourism-industry-and-other-travellers-can-help-families-of-autistic-children-get-the-break-they-deserve-180715

It tells the inspirational story of teenager Addie, a neurodivergent girl. When she learns about the witch trials that happened centuries ago in her hometown of Juniper, Addie knows that there’s more to the story of these ‘witches’, just as there is more to her own. ... "

https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/proginfo/2023/16/a-kind-of-spark

"A Kind of Spark" programme on iPlayer:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/p0f7q3rv/a-kind-of-spark

Police record ‘hate incident’ after autistic boy drops Quran in school corridor

Police have recorded a “hate incident” after an autistic boy dropped a copy of the Quran in a busy school corridor and four pupils were suspended over false rumours that it had been set alight.

A Year 10 pupil at Kettlethorpe High School, Wakefield - who was said to be autistic - was told to bring in a copy of the Quran by friends after losing a video game. It was later damaged after he dropped it in a busy corridor.

Four pupils were suspended for a week and West Yorkshire police intervened after false rumours spread that the holy book had been set alight.

Akef Akbar, a councillor who works with the school, said the boy had taken the Quran to school last week and given it to another pupil who read out passages on the tennis court.

The book was later taken inside, where it fell on the floor before being put in a pupil’s bag, he said.

Inspector Andy Thornton spoke to parents at the local mosque and told them the damage was being treated as a “hate incident”.

Meanwhile, Tudor Griffiths, the school's headteacher, said there had been “no malicious intent” but the pupils’ actions were “unacceptable”.

In a recording of a meeting seen by The Times, Mr Griffiths said: “If more consequences have to be followed, that will be the case.”

Humanists UK said the decision to suspend the boys alleged to have started the rumours was “horrendous” and the school had allowed itself to be “pressured into excessive disciplinary action by a religious group”.

Home Secretary Suella Braverman is understood to have expressed concern after police took such steps over the “slight damage”.

“These are very concerning reports," a source close to Ms Braverman said.

"The Home Secretary is clear that the police response should always be proportionate and consider the welfare of young children as a priority over any perceived insults.”

The mother of the boy who brought in the Quran said he was autistic and had received death threats.

Apologising on his behalf, she added: “He hasn’t eaten since Wednesday afternoon when this occurred because with his autism.

"It’s put his anxiety to a level where he is beside himself. He is very, very sorry.”

The case is believed to be considered a “non-crime hate incident”, giving police a way to record an incident which does not necessarily meet the criminal threshold.

Source: LBC

Dad's warning after girl, 14, dies from inhaling deodorant

The parents of a girl who died after inhaling aerosol deodorant want clearer product labelling to warn people of the potential dangers.

Giorgia Green, who was 14 and from Derby, had a cardiac arrest after spraying the deodorant in her bedroom.

Her parents have since become aware of other young people who accidentally died after inhaling deodorant.

In response, the British Aerosol Manufacturers' Association (BAMA) said deodorants have "very clear warnings".

By law, aerosol deodorants must be printed with the warning "keep out of reach of children".

However, Giorgia's parents said the writing was small.

They believe many parents buy deodorant for their children without noticing the warning.

"People don't know how dangerous the contents of those tins can be," said her father Paul.

"I would like it so that no-one else in the country - or the world - would end up having to go through what we've personally gone through.

"We don't want our daughter's death to be in vain."

Giorgia was autistic and her father said she liked to spray deodorant on blankets as she found the smell comforting.

"The smell of it gave her a certain sense of relaxation," said Mr Green.

"If she was feeling in any way a little bit anxious, she would spray this spray and it would give her a sense of comfort because it's a deodorant my wife used."

Giorgia's older brother found her unresponsive in her bedroom on 11 May 2022.

"Her door was open, so it wasn't as if it was an enclosed environment," said her father.

"The exact amount [of deodorant] isn't clear but it would be more than you would normally spray.

"At some point her heart stopped as a result of breathing it in."

An inquest was held into Giorgia's death and the coroner recorded the conclusion as misadventure.

Her medical cause of death was "unascertained but consistent with inhalation of aerosol".

According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), "deodorant" was mentioned on 11 death certificates between 2001 and 2020.

However, the actual number of deaths is likely to be higher than this, due to the fact that specific substances are not always mentioned on death certificates.

Giorgia's death certificate referred to "inhalation of aerosol" rather than "deodorant".

Butane - the main ingredient of Giorgia's deodorant - was recorded as having been involved in 324 deaths between 2001 and 2020. Propane and isobutane - also in Giorgia's deodorant - were mentioned in 123 and 38 deaths respectively.

The ONS said the substances had been linked to a number of deaths, noting: "The inhalation of butane or propane gas can lead to heart failure."

The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) said a number of people had died after over-spraying deodorants.

'Common misconception'

Ashley Martin, public health adviser at RoSPA, said: "It's easy to assume they are completely safe and totally free from risk. The truth is they're not.

"Inhaling large quantities of aerosols, not just deodorants, can lead to a whole host of life-endangering scenarios - from blackouts and breathing difficulties, to heart rhythm changes and sadly, death.

"There's a common misconception that fatalities from aerosols only happen in a substance abuse scenario, but this is absolutely not true.

"We have seen a number of fatalities over recent years where children and young adults have over-sprayed aerosols - from teenagers conscious of body odour, to children seeking reassurance from familiar smells."

Giorgia's parents said they had come across some of these cases through their own research.

They include 12-year-old Daniel Hurley, also from Derbyshire, who collapsed and died after spraying himself with deodorant in a bathroom.

"That was in 2008 but my daughter died in 2022," said Mr Green. "The awareness still isn't where it should be."

More recently, 13-year-old Jack Waple died in similar circumstances to Giorgia in 2019. His inquest heard he sprayed deodorant if he felt anxious when his mother left the house, as it smelled like her.

What warnings are printed on aerosol deodorants?

By law, aerosol deodorants must be printed with the warning "keep out of reach of children".

Most aerosol deodorants also have a warning that says "solvent abuse can kill instantly". This is not a legal requirement, but is recommended by BAMA due to the risk of people inhaling aerosols to intentionally get high.

Giorgia's parents believe the warning should be changed to "solvent use can kill instantly", because Giorgia was not abusing deodorant.

Aerosol deodorants must also contain instructions on their correct usage, which are written following risk assessments carried out by the manufacturer. For example, the instructions might say "use in short bursts in well-ventilated places".

If an aerosol deodorant is flammable there must also be a warning about this.

BAMA said in a statement: "The British Aerosol Manufacturers' Association (BAMA) takes very seriously any incident involving aerosol products, and we were deeply saddened to learn of the death of someone so young.

"As an industry association we work with manufacturers to ensure that aerosols are made to the highest safety standards and are labelled with very clear warnings and usage instructions and recommend that anyone using an aerosol does so in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions.

"We also recommend applying a number of additional warnings and usage instructions, beyond those required by regulation, and continue to review these to encourage the safe use of aerosols."

Source: BBC News

By the time Richard Turner was in his mid-30s, he’d given away nearly all of his money to a church. Everything he held dear had been stripped bare by a religious community in the UK which claimed to have his best interests at heart. It took him years to piece together how this could have happened. It was only in recovery that he was diagnosed with autism, which he believes made him more susceptible to coercive control by a group he now regards as a cult.

For Heart and Soul, Richard takes us on his journey of self-discovery, sharing his faith experiences with other ‘cult survivors’, including one US man with Asperger’s Syndrome who has spent most of his adult life ‘cult-hopping’. How common are these extraordinary stories across the world? With very little academic research available, Richard is part of a growing movement working to understand the link between neurodivergence and cults.

Listen here

The Image Project has a web site with tools are designed to help you navigate the transition from university into employment.

https://toolkit.imageautism.com/

On that web site there is also a page titled "How to ask for support and reasonable adjustments":

https://toolkit.imageautism.com/information-and-advice/how-to-ask-for-support-and-reasonable-adjustments/

which might be of interest to some people on this forum.

Rhianan Rudd: MI5 had evidence teen terror suspect was exploited

Evidence showing the grooming and sexual exploitation of a schoolgirl was handed to MI5 months before she was charged with terrorism offences, a BBC investigation has found.

The prosecution of Rhianan Rudd was later dropped after the Home Office concluded she was a victim of exploitation.

Rhianan, who was 15 when she became the youngest girl charged with terror offences in the UK, took her own life in a children's home in May 2022.

Her mother says investigators should have treated her daughter "as a victim rather than a terrorist".

The case raises questions about how the UK deals with the problem of children involved in extremism, according to the senior lawyer responsible for reviewing terror laws.

At the age of 14, Rhianan Rudd became absorbed by right-wing extremism. Her mother Emily Carter remembers her as a "lovely girl" who adored horses. But then she began to express racist and antisemitic beliefs, Ms Carter says.

"If you didn't have blonde hair and blue eyes - Aryan as they say - she didn't want to know you, you were an inferior race, you shouldn't have been alive," her mother recalls.

She says her daughter was taking in extreme views "like a sponge". "She was changing herself, that's not Rhianan," she says. "She was a child who fixated on things."

Rhianan, who was born in Essex and later moved to Derbyshire, had difficulty building relationships and "struggled in life", Ms Carter says. She was also diagnosed as autistic.

Rhianan had run away from home in the past and there was social service involvement with the family. Her mother acknowledges she made mistakes but "always tried to do her best".

By September 2020, Ms Carter had become so concerned by Rhianan's mindset that she referred her to Prevent, the government de-radicalisation scheme, after she admitted downloading a bomb-making manual.

Within a month, Rhianan was arrested by counter-terror detectives and her brief engagement with Prevent had to end. She was questioned, bailed as a terrorism suspect, and was no longer able to attend school.

For some time, she had been talking to older people online, including American Christopher Cook, who promoted a terrorist form of neo-Nazism, and formed a combat cell to carry out attacks.

Evidence shows the then-partner of Rhianan's mother also had an influence. Ms Carter says this was kept from her.

The partner, American Dax Mallaburn, had been part of a white supremacist prison gang in the US. He met Rhianan's mother via a pen pal system for prisoners.

Before Rhianan was arrested, Mallaburn's relationship with her mother had broken down and he returned to the US. But the BBC has discovered that Cook and Mallaburn had been in contact, with Cook telling him to teach Rhianan the "right way".

During police interviews, Rhianan described being coerced and groomed, including sexually, and having sent explicit images of herself to Cook. The abuse she described would eventually result in a formal government finding of exploitation.

Under modern slavery laws, certain public bodies like the police are required to notify the Home Office about any potential victims of exploitation they encounter.

However, in the months before Rhianan was charged, none of the organisations involved referred her to the specialist Home Office unit that considers such cases.

This was not due to a lack of information.

The BBC has found that, around the time of Rhianan's arrest, MI5 received evidence showing she had been exploited - including sexually - by Cook.

An FBI investigation had uncovered messages and images from Cook's devices showing Rhianan being groomed, coerced and exploited. The FBI handed the material to MI5.

Rhianan spent over six months on bail waiting for a charging decision. Her mother says this period led to a decline in Rhianan's mental health, with instances of self-harm, running away, and attempted suicide. Derbyshire social services were involved and she was moved into care.

In April 2021, more than six months after the arrest, she was charged with six terrorism offences for having earlier possessed instructions for making explosives and weapons. Prosecutors alleged one set of instructions were connected to a potential planned attack.

Days after she was charged, when newly-appointed defence lawyers intervened, Derbyshire Council referred Rhianan to the Home Office as a possible victim of exploitation.

It took a further seven months for a decision to be made. When it came, the Home Office concluded she had been trafficked and exploited.

In late December 2021 the prosecution was halted.

Rhianan is part of a trend of growing numbers of children, often involved in online right-wing extremism, being investigated by MI5 and police.

Convictions in the past two years include a Cornish boy who led his own online terror cell aged 14 and a boy from Darlington arrested aged 13.

In the case of another boy, a pre-sentence report from experts said it was "likely that he did not see the wider ramifications of his activities, now seamlessly replaced apparently by interests such as Dad's Army".

Cases involving children are complex. A child might have been groomed and exploited, but nevertheless pose a genuine risk of harm to other people.

Debates about trafficking and exploitation are also taking place in immigration cases concerning young women appealing the removal of their British citizenship after they went to Syria to join the Islamic State group.

In the case of Shamima Begum, who travelled aged 15, the government has argued against claims of trafficking and said she is a security threat. Her lawyers say she was trafficked and sexually exploited.

Few children who are charged with terror offences end up being imprisoned. The process of investigation, arrest and prosecution can take many months, and well over a year in some cases.

Jonathan Hall KC, the independent reviewer of terrorism legislation, says that in 2020/2021 only one child who committed a terrorism offence was jailed, with all the others "eventually given non-custodial sentences".

He says the question needs to be asked about whether the current approach is effective. He suggests changes in the law that would allow police to say to a child terror suspect that they would either be prosecuted or they could accept an injunction. He says these could, for example, limit mobile phone use, require the use of monitoring software and engagement with a mentor.

"That can be done really quickly, and keep them out of the criminal justice system altogether," he says.

Rhianan's mother thinks her daughter should never have been charged.

She says police "obviously" have to investigate and search for evidence, but she believes they should have subsequently dealt with it "completely differently".

"They should have seen her as a victim rather than a terrorist. She's a child, an autistic child. She should have been treated as a child that had been groomed and sexually exploited."

A government spokesperson told the BBC: "MI5 takes its responsibilities in relation to those who may be at risk of harm very seriously.

"In accordance with long-standing government policy, MI5 can neither confirm nor deny involvement in individual cases.

"More generally, if in the course of work to protect national security someone in MI5 obtains information that an individual is or may become at risk of death or serious harm, this will be passed to the relevant authorities."

Cook, the American who exploited Rhianan, has pleaded guilty in the US to a neo-Nazi terrorist plot along with others to destroy a power grid. He had been on bail awaiting sentencing.

But the BBC has established that the court in Ohio only recently became aware of Cook's predatory conduct towards Rhianan, which had not been part of the original case against him despite the FBI's long-standing knowledge of his abuse. After the court learned of his behaviour, Cook was placed in custody in December ahead of sentencing.

After the prosecution of Rhianan was abandoned, she chose to continue living in her Nottinghamshire children's home and began engaging with the Prevent scheme.

But there were signs that all was not well.

In the weeks before her death, Rhianan asked her mother to help her contact a neo-Nazi extremist in the US. Her mother reported it to the children's home, which is run by private firm Blue Mountain Homes. She says she was then told social services and police had decided to let contact take place. It is unclear if it did.

Her mother had warned Derbyshire Council about the risk of Rhianan taking her own life. In emails to a social worker in 2021, she wrote: "I hope she doesn't try kill herself when in her room on her own."

She stated in the emails that Rhianan had access to ligatures.

Ms Carter says she saw Rhianan days before her death and was so concerned by her appearance that she contacted the home.

She says she warned staff that her daughter was "going to do something" and asked them to watch her. The manager said they would "find out what's going on" and told her not to worry, she says.

But later that week, she says, three police officers were "standing in my living room telling me that my daughter died by hanging".

In Rhianan's room at the children's home, access to items that could be used as ligatures were banned due to the risk of self-harm and suicide, but she gained access to one.

Aged 16, she was found dead in May over 12 hours after she retired to her room the night before.

An inquest is due to take place into her death. No date has been set.

The organisations contacted by the BBC said they could not comment on the details of our investigation until the inquest is complete.

Source: BBC News

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m001fs8b/click-voice-banking-and-robots

The link to the company called "changingday" is at:

https://www.changingday.com/about
 

Also available for a while at the following web page:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m001dn5s

Mar 8, 2022

Professor Amanda Kirby Highlights Forgotten Neurodiversity Heroines On International Women’s Day

Nancy Doyle  Contributor

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

I am an organizational psychologist specializing in neurodiversity.

In celebration of International Women’s Day, it is becoming a trend to right the wrongs of the past and amplify the work of women who were erased from the popular discourse. Famous examples include Dr Rosalind Franklin, whose work on DNA was essential but was overlooked by the Nobel Prize committee when they awarded her colleagues, Crick, Watson and Wilkins in 1962. We are also aware of Ada Lovelace, who wrote the first algorithm, yet her boss Charles Babbage is hailed as the ‘father of computing’. Also regularly overlooked in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) is Dr Gladys West who invented the core mathematical principles behind GPS technology.

Neurodiversity And Sexism

The social and medical sciences are not immune from historical sexism. We see this in the story of sociologist Judy Singer, who originated the concept of neurodiversity but is rarely referenced academically by the male academics who are now famous for their writing on the subject. Singer’s academic career was cut short by her position as a single parent raising an autistic child. Singer rightly criticizes the neurodiversity discourse around “pushy mothers” advocating for their kids and being chastized by professionals. What about the dads? Where are they? Why are we singling out only half the parents as responsible for their child’s welfare and then berating them for being hysterical and making up their problems?

The layers of gender bias in neurodiversity are many and their tentacles stretch way beyond the diagnosis disparity. We might also suggest that the reason we have such a wide disparity in diagnosis between men and women is because the male scientists who have dominated the field have created the definitions and checklists from their own standpoint.

Today, we acknowledge the many women sociologists, psychologists and physicians who have contributed to the neurodiversity narrative and advanced our mission without recognition and fame. Professor Amanda Kirby presents two women whose work she would like to amplify.

Dr Grunya Sukhareva

Professor Kirby states: “Introducing Dr Sukhareva. Perhaps you have not heard of her? Surprisingly I had not done so till recently. Two full decades before Hans Asperger and Leo Kanner published work relating to autism there was a Russian Jewish female doctor in Moscow who was ahead of the field.”

Only in the past 4 years has this come to light with Spectrum News and the Scientific American reporting her findings from her 1925 published article:

“It was 1924 when the 12-year-old boy was brought to the Moscow clinic for an evaluation. By all accounts, he was different from his peers. Other people did not interest him much, and he preferred the company of adults to that of children his own age. He never played with toys: He had taught himself to read by age 5 and spent his days reading everything he could instead. Thin and slouching, the boy moved slowly and awkwardly. He also suffered from anxiety and frequent stomach-aches.”

Where Sukhareva worked children sometimes lived in a residential setting for 2-3 years having detailed interventions. This allowed her to observe their ‘behaviours’ first- hand and over a prolonged period. Over the course of the following year, Sukhareva identified five more boys with what she described as “autistic tendencies.” All five also showed a preference for their own inner world, yet each had their own peculiarities or talents.

In 1925, she published a study describing in detail the autistic features the six boys shared and these directly mapped to the later DSM criteria, yet Dr Sukhareva is virtually missing from the history of autism. Professor Kirby explains how this happened:

“Very little Russian research from that time was translated into other languages besides German. And although her 1925 paper on autism traits appeared in German the following year, the translation butchered her name, misspelling it as “Ssucharewa.” The paper was only translated into English nearly 70 years later. Interestingly it was translated into German it was likely that Asperger would have read it but he never referenced her work. It was translated into English in 1996.”

Dr Esther Thelen

Professor Kirby describes a second expert in developmental psychology to whom she thinks we should be indebted. This is Dr Esther Thelen. Professor Kirby explains Dr Thelen’s work:

“Thelen's research in the 1980s was focused on human development, especially in infant development. We used to think that child development followed a set pattern from babyhood to toddler: reach, grasp, roll, sit, crawl and then walk (we call these developmental milestones). We used to think that if you didn’t follow the order, it was problematic. The description, prior to Thelen’s work of these milestones resulted in a view of motor development as a rather rigid process. Developmental milestones are a core component of diagnosing neurodevelopmental differences such as dyspraxia, dyslexia and autism.

Thelen and her co-workers demonstrated that there was complex interplay between infants' bodies, their environment, and earlier experiences which impacted on the course of development. Specifically, through careful observation they determined that new born leg kicking patterns are affected by their weight, their context (lying, being held up, being in water) and it was these contexts determining their progress, rather than a natural order of development. Importantly, they showed there was not one single factor but a complex mesh of interactions with resulted in the outcome.”

Professor Kirby draws the following conclusion from Dr Thelen’s work to the neurodiversity movement and the wider concepts involved in the social model of disability.

“For me, this is fundamental to our understanding and provision of support for neurodivergent children and adults today in school or the workplace. We need to move to thinking of people with a diagnosis of dyslexia or autism for example as all needing the same support but always also thinking about the task the person is doing and the environment they are in as this will affect everyone differently.”

Dr Thelen was quoted as saying "The mind simply does not exist as something decoupled from the body and experience," this sentence indicating the trend towards biopsychosocial, holistic understanding of human development. Dr Thelen was able to show that we develop as part of a dynamic and complex system and the environment we are in also interacts too and impacts on our development. Her theory called Dynamic Systems Theory proposes that movement is produced from the interaction of multiple sub-systems within the person, task, and environment). This is of great use to those being diagnosed with dyspraxia, dyslexia and others, as in doing so one's childhood history is analysed for missing skills or unusual trajectories. Dr Thelen's work helps us them determine interventions could help children develop skills that they need for independence.

Professor Kirby Herself

It would be remiss of me to not to mention Professor Kirby’s own work on dyspraxia (aka developmental coordination disorder(DCD)). Her research is world renowned and remains the only consistent academic reporting on this minority neurotype, which is present at similar levels in the population as ADHD and many times the prevalence of autism, yet remains under served. Professor Emeritus at the University of Cardiff, she has 2663 citations for her writing, showing how it has influenced others in the our field. Professor Kirby's work ensures that we don’t forget dyspraxic voices and helps us understand the routes of support required for dyspraxic adults.

Thank you to these great women!

Source: Forbes

"Autism: Grimsby mum's blog aims to show reality of condition":

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-england-humber-60071772

The blog can be seen at:

https://thefinchfamilylife.wordpress.com/

Link to programme website:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0b5l3lq

Programme should be available on iPlayer shortly after its television broadcast.

https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-981-13-8437-0

The ebook can be downloaded here:

https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007%2F978-981-13-8437-0.pdf

The airline has apologised and says it "regrets to hear of the stress" caused.

Callum, who also has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), had struggled with lockdowns, so the family wanted to take him for a break to his "happy place" in Spain.

Ms Hollingsworth said his one previous test in January had been "a nightmare", so his doctor had provided a medical exemption letter.

He did, however, have a test before he left the UK, but his family said they spent two months preparing him for this.

Government guidance says people with medical conditions which mean they cannot take a test, do not need one to travel to the UK, providing they "present a note from a medical practitioner at check in".

'Not our problem'

On their return on 3 August, the family was told at the airport that Callum must have another Covid test in order to return to England, despite showing Ryanair staff the letter.

Ms Hollingsworth said Callum "lost it" and had a "meltdown because he thought it was his fault".

"He started hitting the chair and then started hitting himself," she said.

"The staff were just ignoring us. All they kept saying was 'it's not our problem'."

Ms Hollingsworth said while they were not "rude or aggressive", voices were "raised" and police were called to help.

"My husband then had to physically restrain my son with two members of staff to try to get him to have a test," she said.

"Callum tried to be brave but he was petrified.

"The fact that he didn't need this one made it even worse because we'd told him the previous one was going to be his one and only test."

A spokesman for the airline says it "regrets to hear of the stress" caused to the family.

"Ryanair fully complies with EU and government travel restrictions, which are constantly changing in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic," a statement said.

"We continue to make improvements and implement procedures to ensure the health and safety of our passengers and our crew is prioritised while complying with each country's government guidelines at all times."

Ms Hollingsworth said she now hoped it would not happen to others with hidden disabilities.

"If my child was in a wheelchair or had something you can see, I don't think they would have treated him the way that they did," she said.

Source: BBC News

https://medicalxpress.com/tags/autism+spectrum+disorder/

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p09jpz1p

All episodes of "1800 Seconds on Autism":

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p06sdq0x/episodes/player

Morénike Giwa Onaiwu is part of the Autism Women's Network in US. She says many of her early symptoms of autism were dismissed or ignored because she is Black and explains how autism can amplify stereotypes around Black women.

Sara Gibbs is a British comedy writer and autistic. Labelled as a cry baby, scaredy cat and spoiled brat – she finally got a diagnosis in her thirties. She has written a book, Drama Queen, about trying to fit into a world that has often tried to reject her, and says that being on the spectrum doesn't have to be a barrier to a happy life full of love, laughter and success.

The Conversation

https://www.thebookseller.com/news/pang-wins-royal-society-science-book-prize-1224336

A podcast in which the author talks about her book etc:

https://www.sciencefocus.com/the-human-body/camilla-pang-how-can-science-guide-my-life/

https://theconversation.com/the-science-of-mind-reading-our-new-test-reveals-how-well-we-understand-others-155241

" ... Our research also showed that people with autism reported substantially more mind-reading difficulties than people without autism. The average score of an autistic person would fall within the lowest 25% of non-autistic scores.  ... ".

" ...  It will also be useful to understand and tailor support for people with clinical conditions, such as autism. ... ".