Resources
There is so much information out there and so many people sharing their experiences and so many professionals giving their thoughts and advice for free in blogs and articles. It can be hard to navigate and filter down to work out who to listen to.
This section brings together various books and people that I have found useful. I always read things in a non judgemental and yet skeptical way, so I don’t always agree with everything all these people say. We all are managing very different children and circumstances so only take the bits of guidance that fit with your values and that you need, but sometimes be brave to try new things and always stay curious!
There are many helpful resources out there, this is just a summary of some of the ones that I have found useful and I will be adding more!
Dr Naomi Fisher. She is a clinical psychologist and author who specialises in trauma, autism and alternatives to education. She has over 16 years of clinical experience, a PhD in autism and a doctorate in clinical psychology. She runs courses in low demand parenting, trauma and anxiety and self directed education amongst other topics. She also writes many articles on a blog and has an active facebook page which I follow. She also writes a lot about trauma caused by school and the benefits of screen time! Dr Naomi Fisher home educated her children until they decided to go to a Self Directed college. And she is a professional who gets it, which is so refreshing!
Eliza Fricker, Missing the Mark. She is an illustrator, author and specialises in autism, PDA and the challenges of school. She has written and illustrated several great books such as ‘Can’t not won’t’ An illustrated comic style story about her daughter who can’t go to school, and ‘The Family Experience of PDA’. She does joint webinars with Dr Naomi Fisher on the ‘Art of Low Demand Parenting’ and works with other PDA advocates such as Laura Kerbey who has written ‘The Educator’s Experience of PDA’. Eliza is a mother of a daughter with PDA, who struggled to attend school, and her illustrations and thoughts can help you to not feel quite so alone.
Andy Smith of Spectrum Gaming. He runs a gaming community for young autistic people, an Autism Acceptance training course, and has many Autism Advocacy projects to raise awareness of the needs and the positive influence of autistic people. For example: a report on the barriers to education. He has created lots of videos and really useful written materials. Andy is an autistic adult who excelled academically in primary and secondary school by masking, yet the pressure and trauma of this led to him having 4 years of burnout in early adult hood. His lived experience, his research, his knowledge and insights are so helpful and so important for everyone to understand.
https://www.barrierstoeducation.co.uk/key-principles
Yvonne Newbold
Newbold Hope is a parent-led organization set up by Yvonne Newbold MBE, to work with families and professional staff from education, health care and social services in reducing anxiety-led difficult and dangerous behaviour in children with an additional need or disability. I have completed several of Yvonne’s courses and watched her Ted Talk and found she gave me some really supportive and helpful guidance.
Trauma Informed Parenting
TIP Trauma Informed Parenting is a charity set up by Suzanne Scott, founder and trainer. While she and her husband were providing foster care, they became aware of a need that was not being met in some of the children coming through their home. While searching for a way to help support them Suzanne was introduced to Bryan Post of the Post Institute “Stress Model”, using his trauma lens techniques changed everything for her foster children, and her own PDA (Pathological Demand Avoidance) child. She has continued to build on that knowledge with experience working through its implementation and seeing the positive results its brought to the children in her care, also recognising and acknowledging her own past trauma. She became certified in the stress model and felt driven to share this information with as many people as possible.