Everyone will meet an autistic person in their lives, and autistic people are in every classroom and every work force. Having a clearer understanding of difference can give us practical insight into how to better support and engage neurodivergent learners, and perhaps more importantly how to improve their mental health.

Joanna Grace is a sensory engagement and inclusion specialist, doctoral researcher, author, trainer, TEDx speaker and Founder of The Sensory Projects. Joanna joins me in this episode to talk about how her son came to write a book called ‘My Mummy is Autistic’. She also takes us through her personal journey of being diagnosed and the pressures of trying to conform and ‘fit the mould’ growing up.  

In this podcast we cover:

• Autism as a difference not a deficit
• The importance of role models for neurodivergent children
• The language processing differences experienced by autistic, and other neurodivergent people

About Joanna Grace

Joanna Grace is a sensory engagement and inclusion specialist, doctoral researcher, author, trainer, TEDx speaker and Founder of The Sensory Projects.  

Joanna has worked with people with learning disabilities and neurodivergent conditions aged from 0-100 (well 1 day old – 87 years old to be precise) in a range of settings and context. 

Through all she does Joanna is seeking to contribute to a future where people are understood in spite of their differences. 

Contact Joanna Grace

Website - www.TheSensoryProjects.co.uk

Email - [email protected]

Twitter - @Jo3Grace

Facebook - www.Facebook.com/JoannaGraceTSP 

Useful Links

Aside from the obvious, my son’s book My Mummy is Autistic, I have a FREE training series on YouTube aimed at mainstream SENCOs (but it has been accessed far more widely than that) that explores issues that crop up in schools around autistic students https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLi1RQR58BHnW5LtJfD0Ph-RIH7EhnrP3t 

My facebook is also a resource for insight into neurodivergence, with the photo albums acting as resource banks: www.facebook.com/JoannaGraceTSP people are welcome to connect with me, and my LinkedIn profile has many free to access articles that I have written on the topic of neurodiversity www.LinkedIn.com/In/JoannaGraceTheSensoryProjects