The Middletown Centre for Autism Podcast

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On the latest Middletown Podcast, we’re joined by the wonderful students from New-Bridge Integrated College. Logan, Faith, Summer and Molly are part of a post primary peer mentor programme designed to shape an inclusive student culture. They are a neurodiverse group and they all have their own perspective and lived experience. They share their experience and then they take the mic to ask MCA staff for our thoughts on inclusion. We share what inclusion means to us, why assumptions are still a major barrier, and why listening to student voice is the change that lasts.

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In this episode, we’re talking about belonging and inclusion. We chat to Louise King, Middletown staff member, who shares her experience supporting autistic children and young people in lots of different school settings. We talk about the importance of inclusion, where challenges might arise and how to address them. Louise shares really useful examples and practical ideas. 

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A pupil walks into a classroom and instantly scans for one thing: am I safe to be myself here? That simple question sits underneath everything we explore with Middletown colleagues Finola McElhatton and Ruth McCausland as we dig into what inclusion really means and why “rightful presence” raises the bar even further.

We talk about what happens when autistic students aren’t included, worries that educators might have and advice for school staff who want to create a safe environment for everyone.

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In the latest episode of the Middletown Podcast, we sit down with Kevin Schaefer, Director of Equity and Inclusive Practices for California’s Supporting Inclusive Practices (SIP) project. We ask how we can support students to experience belonging and power in the spaces where they learn? Our conversation centres on the concept of rightful presence, and why it helps schools move away from compliance towards human dignity. You’ll also hear practical, school-ready ideas: building self-advocacy over time, protecting the dignity of risk, and understanding Universal Design for Learning. 

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In the latest episode we chat to poet, researcher and advocate, Kayren Hayes. Kayren has been diagnosed with stage 4 cancer. She was very keen to share her journey as an autistic person, navigating a very serious health condition and navigating the healthcare system. 

Kayren is very honest about her experiences in cancer treatment, so if you feel like you can't hear about cancer and the challenges it poses, then it might be no harm to skip this episode for today. 

Kayren shares two stunning poems in the episode and, as ever, she is insightful and compassionate. 

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We have another episode with Clinical Specialist OT, Susan Madigan. Susan brings a wealth of knowledge through working with university students. This episode is for students who are heading back to college or university but are feeling some dread about it. 

You can find out more about Susan's work here: https://www.susanmadigan.ie/ 

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In the first of two back-to-university episodes, we chat to Clinical Specialist Occupational Therapist, Susan Madigan. Susan has years of experience working with autistic students in universities. In this episode we discuss the challenges and many joys that autistic students might experience when they are just starting out in their college or university life. Susan shares lots of practical tips!

You can find out more about her work here: https://www.susanmadigan.ie/

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In this episode we share time with Oisin, a young autistic advocate who is working to improve the education system for all autistic people. Oisin is non-speaking, so Noel, Oisin’s carer, read the answers that Oisin wrote to our questions.

Oisin shares his thoughts on advocacy for non-speaking people and how we should all challenge our assumptions about people who communicate in different ways. 

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We talk with Deirdre O’Shea about educator burnout and why so many teachers are running on empty while being asked to deliver major change. We explore how space, compassion, and neuroaffirming practice can protect both staff wellbeing and autistic pupils’ experience of school.

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Break time can look like freedom from the outside, but for many autistic students it can feel like the most demanding part of the day: unstructured social rules, sensory overload, and nowhere obvious to recharge or recover. In this episode, we're joined by Jenny Gibson, a researcher at the University of Cambridge, to get specific about why play matters and what schools can do to make playtime and lunch time genuinely inclusive.