Aeolienne

Seems like Christian Mallon is not the only one playing this game... SRA and others obtain restraint order against law student 13 June 2025 Posted by Neil Rose The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) and five government department have obtained a restraint order against a law student who has brought multiple employment claims against them. Zakir Khan has brought 42 employment tribunal claims since 2017, including 13 against the SRA, seven against various large law firms, six against the Ministry of Justice and five against the Crown Prosecution Service. Her Honour Judge Emma Kelly in Birmingham said there was no evidence that any have succeeded and many have been struck out, although the claimants said the defendant had indicated that two law firms settled claims with nuisance payments of £700 and £1,000. Mr Khan, who says he has a law degree and LLM in commercial law, typically alleges a failure by the prospective employer to make reasonable adjustments in relation to job applications he had made or claimed he wanted to make. He relies on a number of disabilities: ADHD, depression, anxiety and obsessive compulsive personality disorder. The judge said: “The reasonable adjustments the defendant asserts he is entitled to vary from claim to claim but common themes include one or more of: replacing written competency-based application forms with assessed work experience; permitting the defendant to sit a written test to assess hypothetical examples in lieu of demonstrating competencies by already acquired experience; permitting the defendant to bypass a particular stage of the application process; being permitted to engage in post-application correspondence; ignoring grammatical errors in application forms; lowering the minimum competency threshold for jobs; not imposing a word limit on applications; obtaining evidence from an occupation psychologist; providing advance notification of the form of online tests; awarding the defendant higher marks at a particular stage of the application process and, perhaps most optimistically, providing a scholarship for him to undertake the then solicitors’ legal practice course.” HHJ Kelly was not convinced by Mr Khan’s claim that he would not bring any more claims, as he now has a job at the Office of the Public Guardian and was about to become a father. He also told the court he planned to fight the claims already issued and pursue them “until the very end”. He blamed the respondents and judiciary for the problems he had encountered with his cases. HHJ Kelly said Mr Khan had accepted that his intention could “possibly change”. She added: “The defendant’s conceded obsession and uncontrollable urges heightens the risk of a change of intention in the future… “His lack of objectivity and apparent inability to accept judicial decisions heightens the risk of him pursuing totally without merit appeals to the EAT within the extant claims.” Referring to Mr Khan’s applications to strike out the claim and miscellaneous relief, the judge observed: “He did, however, tell the court he had studied law a long time ago and couldn’t remember much of it.” She dismissed them all and recorded they were totally without merit. HHJ Kelly concluded the test for an extended civil restraint order was met. “The persistent nature of the defendant’s totally without merit claims and applications, coupled with the significant risk of further such claims or applications being filed if unrestrained, means that I am persuaded it is appropriate for the court to exercise its discretion to make a civil restraint order.” She ordered that for the next three years Mr Khan could not issue or present a claim in the employment tribunal or an appeal in the Employment Appeal Tribunal without permission of the court, in respect of any job application or application process. The claim was also brought by the Ministry of Justice, Department of Work and Pensions, Department of Business and Trade, the Home Office and the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government. Source: Legal Futures

Robyn's Rocket now has its own website - see Gigs I wonder how Robyn selects her performers? On the face of it, a mix of artists with and without learning disabilities/ and autistic and non Autistic artists sounds tautologous.

The BBC article mentions CubeLynx, which I have posted about in an earlier thread: UK employers eye ‘competitive advantage’ in hiring neurodivergent workers

Update: I reached out to Mayur Gondhea via LinkedIn after reading the above article and was invited to an interview at CubeLynx in February. Except that this "interview" consisted of being shut in a cubbyhole with a financial modelling exercise to complete within 1 1/2 hours. After 45 minutes I'd made no headway as it was completely unfamiliar to me, so I was allowed to leave. I haven't heard anything from them since.

>post deleted - wrong thread<

That link no longer works - try this.

I should have stated that my original posting was not written by me and cited its source. Here's one copy of it, but given that it appears to come from Agence France-Presse (AFP) it was probably published in other places: News.com.au (11 June 2013)

(Not written by me) UK employers eye ‘competitive advantage’ in hiring neurodivergent workers Six-fold rise in job ads that mention conditions such as ADHD and autism since 2019, data shows Amy Borrett, 19 December 2024 UK employers are waking up to the “competitive advantage” of hiring people with conditions such as ADHD and autism, as data shows a six-fold increase in job adverts mentioning terms related to neurodiversity since 2019. But policy experts and campaigners warn that companies need to do more to improve labour market access for neurodivergent candidates as employment rates for this group remain stubbornly low. Figures from hiring website Indeed, shared with the Financial Times, indicated that 2.1 per cent of posts referenced these conditions in October 2024, compared with 0.3 per cent in January 2019. The findings, which excluded roles that typically involve working with neurodivergent people, reflect how more companies are actively seeking such candidates and adjusting their hiring processes to attract the rapidly expanding share of the population with these conditions. Policy experts cautioned against companies paying lip service to long-standing barriers to entry without taking real action and called for the government to urgently improve education and health services. The NHS estimates that one in seven people in the UK are neurodivergent, a term that covers conditions such as autism, ADHD and dyslexia that affect how the brain processes information. Business leaders argue there is a strong economic case for recruiting more people from this “untapped pool of talent”, who have historically been disadvantaged by ineffective hiring and working practices. Mayur Gondhea, founder of CubeLynx, a consultancy providing financial modelling on infrastructure and net zero projects, said half of the company’s 30 analysts were neurodivergent, giving his businesses a “competitive advantage”. “This group is hugely talented but just cannot get a foothold and contribute to the jobs market,” he said. Gondhea added that making adjustments to the work environment, such as providing noise-cancelling headphones and flexible working hours, were “not that expensive or difficult” to implement. "Being inclusive makes people comfortable at work, more productive and more likely to stay with you,” he said. Joseph Koppenhout, a financial analyst at CubeLynx who is autistic, said conventional hiring practices often inadvertently excluded neurodivergent people. “A lot of job interviews rely on vibes and whether you click with that person, which by the nature of autism is quite challenging,” he said. He added that autistic people were often deterred from applying if they did not meet all the job requirements, not realising that recruiters expected people to apply “optimistically”. CubeLynx is one of the companies leading the way on improving workplace inclusivity, according to the inaugural Neurodiversity Employers index, an annual evaluation of workplace culture, recruitment strategies and employee wellbeing. Management consultancy Baringa and insurer Aviva Group were also among the top performers. The report, which was published by charity Autistica last month, concluded more action was needed, with only 30 per cent of the 118 companies that chose to participate having a clear neuro-inclusion goal and strategy. James Cusack, Autistica chief executive, said changes to working practices had “cascading benefits” across an organisation. “It’s not about giving neurodivergent people preferential treatment. The current interview system isn’t very effective and it particularly disadvantages autistic people,” he added. Dan Harris, founder of Neurodiversity in Business, an industry group, said that while large companies were starting to take note of the “vast” neurodivergent workforce, some efforts were “perfunctory” but most companies were making changes “with gusto”. In recent years, Wall Street has lead the way in widening the goalposts. US banks such as JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo have invested heavily in global neurodiversity programmes.“ A small number of key leaders in the industry are driving forth recognition that there is incredibly untapped talent,” said Stephen DeStefani, neurodiversity lead at Wells Fargo, adding that the programme had filled “critical skills” gaps. Bryan Gill, head of neurodiversity at JPMorgan, said hiring had become “far more competitive” and one of the “largest untapped pools” of talent is the neurodivergent community. Despite this greater awareness, employment rates have barely shifted. Official data shows only 31 per cent of autistic adults in the UK were in work in the year ending March 2024, only a slight rise from 26 per cent in the 12 months to March 2021, the first year comparable data was collected. Dismantling the barriers of entry would also drive economic growth, research suggests. Pro Bono Economics, a think-tank, found that doubling employment rates for autistic people by 2030 would deliver between £900mn and £1.5bn in societal benefits each year. “There’s a real hard economic edge to this issue,” said Sir Robert Buckland, author of a government review into autism employment, which was published in February. “This is something that Britain can lead the world on, but to genuinely close the productivity and employment gap we need more than high-level words.” He said the government needed to “ramp up” employer support programmes such as Disability Confident, and that a “bottom-up” approach that helped businesses with free training would be more effective and quicker than new legislation. Rising awareness of neurodiversity has created a surge in new referrals and mounting pressure on NHS services. In England, there are as many as 1.2mn autistic people and 2.2mn with ADHD, according to the Nuffield Trust. A record 205,000 patients are on the NHS waiting list for an autism referral, while waits for an ADHD diagnosis exceed 10 years in parts of England. Cusack said improving economic opportunities for neurodivergent people required “urgent action” to improve special educational needs provision and reduce long waiting lists. “If we don’t find a sustainable way forward then we will see another generation who are highly likely to experience mental health problems and find it impossible to access work,” he added. Sir Stephen Timms, Social Security and Disability minister, said the government would “take forward” the announcements in the Get Britain Working white paper with further measures to improve employment outcomes for disabled people and benefits system reform. “Too many people have faced unnecessary barriers to employment. This government is committed to unlocking the full potential of neurodivergent people, too much of which has been untapped for far too long,” he said. Source: Financial Times

Give ChatGPT a job description and see how ND-friendly it thinks it is: ChatGPT - Is this job Neurodivergent (By Spectroomz.com) As an example, here's what it thought of that notorious Ernst & Young vacancy from 2009/2010 ("Life after graduation" in the "Help and advice forum): Score: 2 (A bit ND friendly) The job offers some flexibility, such as working on multiple projects and collaborating with global teams, but it requires strong multitasking, project management, and frequent communication, which can be challenging for neurodivergent individuals prone to burnout or those who prefer more structured environments. The heavy emphasis on changing deadlines and priorities, combined with complex stakeholder management, could be stressful without clear support systems for neurodivergent employees. There's no mention of accommodations, making it less ND-friendly.

This description of one of the events at the recent British Science Festival got me thinking (emphasis added): Autistic people & the languages nobody knows they speak Did you know that half the world’s population is bilingual? However, reports have shown that many autistic people are prevented from learning another language because of misconceptions that it will be “too much” for them. This is denying them access to multiple skills and opportunities, and the chance to enjoy the thinking skills and social benefits of bilingualism. In this year’s Social Sciences Award Lecture, Bérengère Digard from the University of Edinburgh explains why these misconceptions are incorrect. Bérengère will share how being bilingual has helped many of the autistic people she works with, shaping their thinking skills and challenging the current theories of autism. Original link Is this really true?

(Not written by me) Inside an autistic mind Science journalist Sue Nelson discovered she had autism aged 60. She shares her personal journey to better understand a condition that affects millions worldwide. Science journalist Sue Nelson shares her personal journey to better understand a condition that affects millions worldwide. Inside her autistic inner world is a cacophony of brain chatter, anxiety and sensory issues - recreated within a 360 degree soundscape - that impact her life and interactions with others. Sue, who discovered she had autism last year aged 60, meets other autistic people, researchers and clinicians to try to make sense of her late diagnosis. Those who offer their own stories and experiences include Canadian actor Mickey Rowe, the first autistic actor to play the autistic lead character in The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime; award-winning science writer Dr Camilla Pang; and former teacher Pete Wharmby, who left the profession to write about his condition to help others. Experts who shed light on Sue’s findings include psychiatrist and founder of the Centre for Autism Research in Africa, Professor Petrus de Vries, and Professor Sonya Girdler, director of the Curtin Autism Research Group in Australia. Sue travels to Denmark and Scotland to meet business leaders who are building bridges between those with and without autism. Research shows autistic people make great employees and, in Copenhagen, Specialisterne CEO Carsten Lassen and his team have found ways to match autistic people to jobs, which benefits both the individuals and the companies. In Scotland, Sue is shown around the Barclays buildings that have been built specifically with neurodiverse people in mind, but which the rest of the workforce enjoy too. Podcast

(Not written by me) Could innovative LARP education improve the experience and achievement for all neurodiverse pupils globally? Neurodivergent students learn, think, and process information differently than their neurotypical peers. Because of this, they often face unique challenges in the school setting. Students may struggle with executive functioning skills, typical social and communication skills and have sensory processing difficulties. As a result, they may be more likely to experience anxiety, depression, and many other mental health crises - resulting in a difficult education in which they won't receive the grades or social experience that they could achieve. This programme uses the Østerskov Efterskole school in Denmark as a case study to determine whether their revolutionary LARP (Live Action Role Play) teaching techniques could aid the education of every neurodiverse pupil. And if it can, why not implement it globally. Podcast

(Not written by me) 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

(Not written by me)‘It’s manipulative’: Parents defend girl who ‘politely’ turned down classmate’s Valentine’s Day requestThe school came to the boy’s defence, but observers pointed out that the girl did nothing wrong by spurning his advancesA debate has been sparked after a schoolgirl turned down a classmate’s Valentine’s Day request, prompting a wave of sympathy for her would-be suitor.The controversy began when the boy’s mother, Heather Starr, wrote on Facebook that her son Roman, who is neurodivergent, had made a poster to ask a girl to be his Valentine. It didn’t go well.“You guys. My oldest baby is 14, he has autism, is very shy and socially awkward,” Ms Starr wrote in a post on Feburary 14. “Yesterday he made a poster for a girl at school and asked her to be his valentine at lunch in front of everyone. She said no.”Ms Starr’s story got national attention — and plenty of sympathy for her son at the school.The next day at school, a number of Roman’s classmates approached him with kind words and offers to be his Valentine. According to Today, one of his fellow students presented him with a poster like the one he had made to ask the girl the day before.“They asked him to be their Valentine and he said yes,” Ms Starr wrote on Facebook. “Then the entire cafeteria cheered so loud that they disrupted nearby classes and everyone got in trouble and had to have a silent lunch period after that.”The experience, Ms Starr said, was a highlight for her son.“He told me it was one of the best days of his entire life,” she told Today.com.After the story was given national exposure on the NBC platform, however, a number of observers pointed out that while they were happy for Roman, they were troubled by how the response might affect the girl he asked out.Mandy, a TikTok user, made a video claiming that the boy is being “coddled,” while the girl who rejected his advance was being “demonised.” “He’s a boy who asked a girl to be his Valentine, and she, from all sources I can find, politely declined,” Mandy said in the video. “He chose to do it in a very public way. We’ve got to stop teaching kids to do that. It’s manipulative, because it puts the recipient on the f****** defensive. It puts them in a position where everybody is watching, and now you have to decide something in front of other people.”Mandy said that the response to the story was “planting the seeds that if a girl says no to you, she’s beneath you” and that women are often bullied or even assaulted or killed for rejecting male romantic advances in a world in which men are often taught to feel entitled to women’s bodies.Kris Renee, another TikTok user who made a video about the situation, said that she was teaching her children that they are entitled to respectfully decline anyone’s advances.“Is anyone thinking about the fact of how the next day, that girl was made to feel guilty for having said no? Has that thought crossed anyone’s mind?”Source: Independent

(Not written by me) 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