Bonus September Newsletter and Updates

​Updates from Oxford Conference

Here are Dan and I travelling home exhausted in Kings Cross station, after an intense but culturally, academically & spiritually rich five days in Oxford earlier this month.

Creative Bridges 2024 : Embodied Consciousness, Psyche & Soul in Research & Practice was a fantastic conference!

It was an absolute honour to present about our book, Embodied Education: Creating Safe Space for Learning Facilitating and Sharing, which my husband Dan and I coauthored, & which was published by @girlgodbooks as part of the Transformative Education Track & Embodiment & Transpersonal in Education session of the Creative Bridges 2024 : Embodied Consciousness, Psyche & Soul in Research & Practice Conference on Thursday last week in the truly magnificent Examination School of Oxford University @oxford_uni

To be part of this fantastic event, in the magical city of Oxford, within Oxford University, centre of pioneering ideas, as part of a line-up of speakers, thinkers & practitioners leading & bridging the energy of exploration & spiritual renewal of our times & for the good of future generations was humbling & inspiring.

I learned so much. It's going to take a while to integrate but I'll share as I do.

Thank you : for the opportunity & the whole event

@aleftrust #aleftrust @eurotas.world #eurotas @britishpsychologicalsociety

“Creative bridges” are spaces where we transcend the restrictive and regressive forces that confront us in what is clearly a transitional age. By forging new connections, we create paths that may lead us wisely into the next phase of cultural and spiritual evolution.

Bridges lie at the core of our work as practitioners, researchers, and scholars.

Embodied Education #embodiededucation which I presented at this conference in Oxford last week is the creative bridge of mind & body reconnection & the rehumanising act of making educational, sharing & learning spaces hospitable & safe for all bodies & neurotypes.

We did it! We made it into the EUROTAS @eurotas.world 2024 Online Blackwell's Bookshop AND in-store in the Oxford @blackwelloxford Bookshop

Delighted! Check out the Creative Bridges @aleftrust online book list here

https://blackwells.co.uk/bookshop/collection/EUROTAS2024/-189014?r=qr

Embodied Education: Creating Safe Space for Learning Facilitating and Sharing coauthored by @kaylouisealdred & Dan Aldred was published in May 2023 by @girlgodbooks

Environments and Cultures either Enable or Disable

Being #Autistic-#ADHD in a body-mind of hypersensitivity & hyper empathy means my differences are foremost an embodied experience. 

Basically, my body has no mute button with regards to #interoceptive awareness & processing sensory environments.

There is no pathology in this and nothing to ‘cure’ – it’s just how some body-minds are formed. 

A long train journey via two London train stations to Oxford & then an intensive five day long residential conference environment with challenging acoustics, hundreds of delegates to interact with, bright lights & lots of new knowledge to process, alongside city living, was challenging, but manageable, with the companionship of my husband, pacing, aids & reasonable environmental adjustments.

I've been reflecting on the hidden, invisible & additional processing burdens & additional self-management neurodivergent individuals (of all profiles) have to undertake to access educational spaces, employment opportunities & travel.

Environments & cultures either enable or disable.

Part of the solution is #embodiededucation which I presented at the Creative Bridges conference last week.

Truly understanding the human mammalian body & workings of its #nervoussystem is foundational to #rehumanising & creating hospitable environments for all bodies & neurotypes.

It's a bottom-up, body-mind endeavour.

Updates from NdC

Returned from the Oxford conference to a very busy working week which started on Monday presenting online, on behalf of Neurodiverse Connection, to a #multidisciplinary #care team in London, about #regulation & #dysregulation, during which I emphasised the importance of practitioners & care providers understanding & taking responsibility for their own #windowoftolerance, because of the direct correlation of practitioner self-awareness, nervous system regulation & the quality of care provided.

In this three-part series of blogs, as NdC Development Lead I examine the complex entanglement of #Neurodivergence and #trauma, and the implications this has for the concept of “#recovery”. In this first part, I explore how natural rhythms, such as the seasons, can illuminate an understanding of trauma and recovery.

Extracts below. Link to read the whole blog & to the Neurodivergent Wellbeing Approach Training in comments: 

"In the Neurodivergent Wellbeing Approach course, I talk about the importance of connecting to and eventually honouring and structuring our life around our unique energy rhythms, through observing, being mentored by, and communing with nature’s rhythms. These #cyclical rhythms include the #seasons and the #lunarcycles.

Living coordinated with our inner seasons leads to better nervous system regulation and more sustainable living habits. This is especially important for Neurodivergent individuals who may ‘buck the trend’ (as I do) of being most energised and uplifted in summer.

Whatever our rhythms, connecting to nature shows us that just as the seasons turn and the trees bud, bloom, shed and rest, and the sun rises, shines, sets and disappears, and the moon waxes to fullness, and wanes to darkness, so do we need to find our unique rhythm, which is our best season and do our utmost to find out which environments echo that to support us be most regulated.

Trauma is healed through connection and nature offers us connection in a gentle and comforting way. It reassures us that we can be a wild, non-conformist, fast-growing climber (think some types of clematis) which can’t/won’t be tamed and flourishes in peak heat or a sturdy, reliable, prickly holly bush which dependably produces red berries, nourishing the birds in the hardest, coldest winter.

Everything is welcome; there's space for all ways of being a plant, tree, or flower. Seasons remind us that we, as living beings, need to figure out how long it takes and what we need to bud, bloom, harvest, and rest. That is why I advocate for cyclical living education in schools, mental health care, and therapeutic intervention within the Neurodivergent Wellbeing Approach training."


Neurodivergent Wellbeing Approach Training starts Oct 1st. More info here: https://ndconnection.co.uk/ndwatraining


Read the full blog https://ndconnection.co.uk/blog/trauma-and-recovery-part-1

Last Tuesday I started facilitation of the latest round of the #Neurodivergent #Wellbeing Approach #Training for Neurodiverse Connection.

The Neurodivergent Wellbeing Approach is a holistic, Neurodivergent-friendly well-being curriculum that offers education and practical strategies for the #mind, #body & #spirit of Neurodivergent individuals, their family members, friends, caregivers, and professionals who support them.

This #nervoussystemfriendly system & #traumainformed programme is based on the concept of ‘experience to share’ and is designed to promote the wellbeing of participants, which they can then share with those they care for and support.

The next round of early evening training starts on Oct 1st & there are only a few places remaining.


Neurodivergent Wellbeing Approach Training starts Oct 1st. More info here https://ndconnection.co.uk/ndwatraining

In addition fellow Neurodiverse Connection Development Lead Grace Lee @somegalart examined in another blog how Neurodivergent minds can be vulnerable to #exploitation and #radicalisation by by far-right narratives and deliberate #misinformation.

As an appendix (below) I considered what can be done to find a way forward:

"#Safeguarding #neurodivergent communities against racism and radicalisation involves creating supportive environments that are growth-orientated; aware and reflective, equity-focused, and inclusive, proactively educational, and responsive. Supportive, safe, and regulated environments mean there is a willingness within the community or organisation to engage with and sit with ‘taboo,’ triggering and uncomfortable questions, and topics, be messy and make mistakes in discussions, and individually and collectively assess bias, privilege, power, as well as acknowledge and bridge knowledge deficits.  

As a learning organisation, at Neurodiverse Connection, we are committed to becoming anti-racist and are making space to explore how we can safeguard our organisation and community against racism and radicalisation.  

Last year, as part of our #Grooming and #CoerciveControl Summit, the red and green flags around communities and groups in our NdC curated resource Safeguarding Neurodivergent Individuals from Spiritual Abuse and considered the applications of it to online hate speech promoters and influencers, such as Andrew Tate. The points made in this resource around why neurodivergent individuals might be more at risk of spiritual abuse – social exclusion, challenges in discernment, a desire for belonging, reliance on authority figures, difficulty in self-advocacy and isolation - might equally apply to specific vulnerabilities of risk of radicalisation. 

We recognise the importance of understanding diverse cultural backgrounds within the Neurodivergent communities to address internalised and structural racism by seeking representation, voices, and perspectives. Our focus on service and community accountability, some of the green flags listed in the resource means that we look to create safe space, peer support, allyship and collaboration opportunities."


Full blog here https://ndconnection.co.uk/blog/unpacking-radicalisation

Updates from York Conference

uper excited to be at York St John University @yorkstjohn last week at the #Neurodiversity in #HigherEducation 2 #Conference #NDinHE2 representing Neurodiverse Connection & the #Neurodivergent #Wellbeing Approach #Training we offer.

Great to have a poster as part of the display about this training.

Friday @yorkstjohn #Neurodiversity in #HigherEducation 2 Conference #NDinHE2 Prof Lorna Hamilton & Jamie Williams spoke about the #Inclusive #Neurodiverse #Campuses Project which I had the pleasure of being involved with as co-production group member & briefly as Research Associate during the last academic year.

The findings centre the importance of #collaborative & active practices of inclusive #BELONGING.

Has been an honour to be a small part of this.

This was without doubt the most pleasant and sensory friendly environment I have ever facilitated or taught in!

In the above photo I’m in the gorgeous Creative Centre of @yorkstjohn University delivering a creative workshop on Embodied Education: Creating Safe Space for Learning Facilitating and Sharing to a multidisciplinary audience of academics & practitioners as part of the Neurodiversity in Higher Education 2 #NDinHE2 Conference.

Happy & breathing - staying regulated & present

Embodied Education: Creating Safe Space for Learning Facilitating and Sharing coauthored by @kaylouisealdred & Dan Aldred was published in May 2023 by @girlgodbooks

Still processing this affirming & pioneering #NDinHE2 @yorkstjohn Spectrum First conference which I facilitated a creative workshop on Embodied Education at yesterday.

An exemplary model of #neuroinclusive #conference design, participation, #coproduction & #collaboration

Thank you everyone again.

It's been a transformative first half of September, presenting on Embodied Education at two major conferences, one at Oxford University @oxford_uni (@aleftrust & @eurotas.world Creative Bridges 2024 see previous posts) & then yesterday at York St John University @yorkstjohn (at #NDinHE2)

My message : we are bodyminds & therefore need to create hospitable environments for all bodies, all sensory profiles & nervous systems, in educational, learning & sharing spaces, to improve accessibility, service provision (the quality & outcomes of teaching & learning), student & staff engagement, health & wellbeing.

And this requires a paradigm shift from top down - mind dominant to bottom up - body first design, & relational approaches, which centre self, co- & collective regulation.

Happy Full Moon and Equinox and I’ll write again in October.


Best wishes, Kay