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

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


Best wishes, Kay

Super excited to be at York St John University @yorkstjohn today 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.

#educateevolveembody #embodiededucation #embodimentspirituality #inandthrough #fleshyknowing #education #bodyfirst #bottomup #neuroinclusion

“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.

Embodied Education: Creating Safe Space for Learning Facilitating and Sharing 📕 available now @girlgodbooks & online stores

Creative Bridges 2024 : Embodied Consciousness, Psyche & Soul in Research & Practice Conference took place last week in the Examination School & New College of Oxford University. Hosted by @aleftrust #aleftrust @eurotas.world #eurotas & @britishpsychologicalsociety

#educateevolveembody #embodiededucation #embodimentspirituality #inandthrough #fleshyknowing

​TRANSITION : the process (time period) of shifting (changing & transforming) from one state (place, belief system, way of being & doing) to another.

September is always the beginning of transition - our yearly opportunity to shed old skins & leaves

And prune our branches (for those is us in the northern hemisphere that is) ready for new growth.

The month starts with receiving more insights & awareness & we have the impulse to create new daily & weekly routines alongside a strong physical foundation, to support our nervous system regulation.

Then we reach the transition (& decision) point Autumn Equinox (Mabon) & the shedding begins

We need to NORMALISE living REFLECTIVELY, CYCLICALLY & SEASONALLY - sync with the earth.

And embed this #embodiededucation & these rhythmic reflective practises into institutions & workplaces in society - especially education & healthcare.

AND make it policy & procedure - make it how societal institutions run. Make it systemic.

These are some of the first steps towards EVERYONE having access to wellbeing, nervous system health & being respectful of the earth.

We need SYSTEMIC wellbeing, regulation & respect.

And then we might have a chance of reinstating a #humane #humanitarian #humanity. A human collective which is less in hyper-individualism & survival & more in interdependence & connectedness.

The August bank holiday signals for me the start of the transition into autumn.


For the past few years I’ve spent that bank holiday weekend facilitating the final Somatic Shamanism and Energy Medicine skills practise weekend at the Acorn.


This photo was taken this year’s final training day and is a celebration of a stellar group the 2024 Somatic Shamanism Energy Medicine Deeper Immersion & Practitioner Skills Training Cohort who were an absolute pleasure to teach & hold space for.

I'm so grateful

Thank you @sls_daretodance for superbly assisting with this training

Thank you @acornretreat for the stunning land & space to facilitate on & in

Thank you @acorn_sarah  @thisliberatinglife  @rebecca_brereton_art_therapist  @the_mindfulfox  @amy.at.sacred.sounds  for creating such a beautiful constellation

This training will not be running this academic year - after facilitating for seven years straight it's time for me to pause, reflect, regroup & replenish.

If you'd like to join the waiting list for a Sept 2025 start you can do so by emailing me.

More about those final training days …


There's no learning without the body.

Every year I say this. And that all educational spaces need to incorporate experiential methods & outdoor learning opportunities.

One of my favourite moments of the facilitation of this year training is teaching students to do this complex practice: the rebirth rite.

As a teacher by profession & qualification I know through my own academic study & lived classroom experience (as well as intuitively) how humans learn best. Whether teaching GCSE English, A-Level Psychology, coaching skills or shamanic practises (all of which, & much more, I've taught for real) good teaching & learning happens in the same way.

There's preparation, exploration, reading & study to do in advance. Learning builds on what goes before - it's titrated & cumulative.

There are boundaries & freedom (yes, this is possible!) & the teacher leads by example.

I demonstrate the rite & we discuss it; the real life application of the process, when & when not to do it & crucially how to facilitate in a trauma informed & nervous system friendly safe way.

I provide a written template & diagram of the sequence & I model it again. Students can ask questions at any point.

Together we individually lay out stones on the earth creating the energy structure of a body & we repeat the sequence, several times (remembering our left & right, anticlockwise & clockwise rotations, & the movements around the body) until it becomes a muscle memory.

I give my students space to process, allowing their bodies to integrate the learning overnight & then the next day there's opportunity for clarification & questions before they do it for real, practising on each other.

This is #embodiededucation & #embodimentspirituality

Normalising & anchoring spiritual & holistic healing modalities into the mundane and also ensuring training is accessible, thorough & safe & that practitioners are safe, accountable & professional.

​The training container I craft aligns with the recent excellent work of Stimpunks and Autistic Realms.  I facilitate what they call Cavendish Learning Spaces.


Cavendish Learning Spaces - places to nourish #bodymind - we need them in schools, in universities, in mental health settings, in religious & 'spiritual', retreat & wellbeing & all other community settings ..

Campfires: Spaces for learning with a storyteller — teacher, mentor, elder or carer. Education facilitators need to subvert neuronormativity actively. They need to embark on their transformative neuroqueer journey so their re-storying can inspire neuro-cosmopolitanism.

Caves: Spaces for quiet reflection and self-directed or inter-dependent exploration, recovery and rest. Introspection and self-directed learning. A private space to transform learning from external knowledge to internal belief. Home of reflective construction.

Watering Holes: Spaces for social learning with or alongside peers and carers in validating neurodivergent ways by embracing parallel play and body doubling experiences.

More fantastic work by @autisticrealms & @stimpunks - check them out!

"Helen Edgar (Autistic Realms) and Ryan Boren (Stimpunks) have been exploring radically inclusive learning environments. Cavendish learning spaces are based on flexibility, interaction, movement and the role of embodied responsive experiences. We reject the boundaries of traditional classroom settings and look at how they not only restrict embodied experiences but lead to disembodied experiences and can cause harm."

Contents from two articles Spaces For Multi-Sensory Learners and those with Profound and Multiple Learning Disabilities & Neurodivergent Base Camp

Honoured that the book Embodied Education, which Dan & I co-authored, is referenced

Whilst on the training we learn somatic shamanic practices and get to know our shamanic self, we do not (I do not) call ourselves Shamans.


Those who truly follow the shamanic path are rare.

Ancient indigenous Shamans were rare. Modern neo-shamans are rare.

Why? Because the shamanic process of 'hollowing out' - becoming a 'hollow bone' - tends to happen through a series of painful human life experiences. Chronic illness, traumatic events, abuse, bereavement.

It's not about the 'I' - the 'me' or 'my'.

There is no bypassing. To 'hollow out' we must face, address, process & resolve our human trauma, difficulties & challenges. Continually.

The shamanic path is the most HUMAN & INTERDEPENDENT spiritual path there is because the focus is on SERVICE & the post traumatic recovery of the collective.

As a 'hollow bone' those who have 'hollowed out' open up their mind & body to allow power & 'spirit' (life force) to flow in & through & OUT of them with the intention of supporting others & earth.

The purpose of the shamanic (& I would argue any spiritual/healing) path is to REHUMANISE:

* to ENGAGE with poverty, inequity & all other social justice issues
* to establish a hospitable world - PRACTICALLY - the systems & infrastructure
* to support the RESOLUTION OF TRAUMA & re establishment of a humane, humanitarian, humanity

#educatevolveembody #rehumanise #inandthrough #embodimentspirituality #embodiededucation #fleshyknowing #humane #humanitarian #humanity

The end of August & beginning of September are always a time of transition. The new term looms, there are lots of emotions & this can take its toll on families.

Check out this great FREE ebook resource.

#Embodiment: Supporting #family #wellbeing during #transitions

FREE #Neurodivergent #community EBOOK inspired by the webinar I delivered in June for @the_pdaspace

Brilliantly designed & curated by Helen @autisticrealms

Get your free ebook - link in bio - and share widely


Access the book click here
​

Looking ahead to November … Supporting Children and Young People Impacted by Trauma (from Domestic Abuse)


Nov 5th 2024 10am - 3 pm * FREE DAY ONLINE WEBINAR *

Hosted by Dr Ruth Smith, High Sheriff of North Yorkshire. Invites are being sent to North Yorkshire schools.

I'm really looking forward to supporting this event.

As the second speaker, I'll be presenting at 11am on Embodied Education.

This will be a short talk on why it is important to radically rethink how we educate and why embodied education - as a model which centres body-first and bottom-up perspectives - alongside nervous system education and co-regulation - is vital for classrooms and schools to become trauma-informed.

This talk will also share content Embodied Education: Creating Safe Space for Learning, Facilitating and Sharing and relational, neuro-inclusive, and creative strategies and approaches for learning environments, as a way of supporting the shaping of non-abusive, positive and trauma-informed school culture, safeguarding student and staff wellbeing and educational outcomes.


​Equinox signals the peak of the transition is done …


Once the Autumn Equinox, Mabon, calendared on Sept 21st/22nd has past the peak of the transition is done.  Between now and then I’m presenting at the Oxford and York conferences and will have started the next round of the NdC Neurodivergent Wellbeing Approach training, all of which I mentioned in the August email.


If you missed this and in interested in any of the above click on the links below to learn more.


Creative Bridges, 2024 : Embodied Consciousness, Psyche and Soul in Research & Practice 4-8 Sept in Oxford


Fri 13th Sept @yorkstjohn to the Neurodiversity in Higher Education 2 #NDinHE2 


NdC Neurodivergent Wellbeing Training course

Option 1 :
Starting Tuesday 10th September 2024
4 x Half Day Sessions (9.30am-1pm)

Option 2:
Starting Tuesday 1st October 2024
8 x 1.5 hr Evening Sessions (6-7.30pm)
Best wishes and I’ll write again with updates from Oxford and York later this month!


Kay