Holistic Health Visitor

6/6 As systems reshape, insights from families and frontline practitioners are vital.

Future provision must be nuanced enough to reflect the complexity of children’s needs.

5/6 With the SEND White Paper released today, shared understanding across health, education & social care is essential.

This isn’t about “nurturing” vs “specialist.”

It’s about ensuring both; and supporting professionals to distinguish trauma-driven avoidance from neurodivergent threat responses.

4/6 If PDA is understood solely through a trauma lens, strategies like graded exposure or resilience-building can unintentionally escalate distress.

PDA-affirming practice centres:
• Autonomy
• Collaboration
• Flexibility
• Novelty
• Reducing unnecessary demands

3/6 But the frameworks are not interchangeable.

Trauma-informed asks:
“What has happened to this child?”

PDA-affirming asks:
“What does this demand represent to this child’s nervous system?”

That distinction matters.

2/6 Trauma-informed schools can feel instinctively “right.”

They prioritise:
• Relationships
• Emotional safety
• Low-arousal environments
• Behaviour as communication

These principles align closely with PDA-affirming practice.

Choosing the right educational setting for a neurodivergent child with a PDA profile is rarely straightforward.

Increasingly, professionals are balancing autism-specific provision with trauma-informed or SEMH approaches — as more children present with overlapping needs.1/6

…not stopping because the need above clearly meets threshold for help. They care about those on the lower levels but their need for life saving help isn’t as obvious. It’s not an exact analogy- Those at “fire level” today can still be rescued. But we must protect those on lower levels! 2/2

Early intervention is key! Today, September 11th, is apt to explain my thoughts; it’s like planes have crashed into the metaphorical Towers of the SEND and mental health systems. All the services are rushing up to the top- they’re passing casualties… 1/2
www.instagram.com/reel/DOa15DO...

THIS is what leadership in public life and press looks like

Anything less is quite frankly a disgrace

Patient barcode scanning in NHS hospitals: safety, snags and workarounds. A nurse’s perspective Claire Cox, Patient Safety Learning’s Associate Director, talks about the opportunities to improve patient safety and the risks associated with the use of barcode technology in healthcare

🆕In a new blog on the hub today, our Associate Director @safetynurse999.bsky.social talks about the opportunities to improve patient safety and the risks associated with the use of barcode technology in healthcare. www.pslhub.org/learn/improv... #patientsafety

The current focus is on quantitatively clearing the backlog. However, the qualitative content of the plans must be considered. If they are not fit for purpose, the children will jump from a long wait for EHCNA conclusion to a long wait for tribunal- with needs growing as they wait.

Glimmers: Autistic Joy and Monotropism | Autistic Realms Glimmers are small, powerful moments of Autistic joy that emerge when we’re deeply immersed in what matters to us. Learn how monotropism & flow create s ...

✨ What Are Glimmers? ✨
Glimmers are small, powerful moments of Autistic joy that emerge when we’re deeply immersed in what matters to us.
🌱 Discover how monotropism & flow create space for joy in an often overwhelming world. 💫

Find out more: autisticrealms.com/glimmers-aut...

Mum and daughter found dead at home months after 999 plea Alphonsine Djiako Leuga and her daughter were found three months after the call, an inquest hears.

#Oliverscampaign
A dying mother called 999 pleading for help, yet no ambulance came. Her body went unnoticed for months, alongside her dead disabled daughter, who had been left alone and helpless.

This is what happens when our systems fail the most vulnerable.
www.bbc.com/news/article...

Autistic woman worried her mugs have realised she has a favourite An autistic woman is facing an ethical dilemma over her preference for drinking out of one particular mug, it has been revealed. Lottie Fitzgerald, 35, from Southsea, has developed a strong attachment...

Lottie Fitzgerald, 35, from Southsea, has developed a strong attachment to a blue studio pottery mug she was given last Christmas. She reports that she is beginning to feel intensely anxious about the effect on other mugs that she owns.

I remember a nursing matron throwing out my favourite mug once because someone else used it and didn’t wash it. That’s work place reasons right there 😭

Isle of Wight personal assistants left unpaid due to Direct Payments system outage (updated) Isle of Wight personal assistants and carers have gone unpaid for over a week due to system failure

This article covers the problem. It’s across the whole of the UK

onthewight.com/isle-of-wigh...

@bbclooknorth.bsky.social @bbcnewsnight.bsky.social @jamesfitzjourno.bsky.social @davidmilliken.bsky.social @marthe.co.uk @asylummatters.bsky.social @asylumadvocacy.bsky.social @uk.unhcr.org @carers-uk.bsky.social @koppensteiner.bsky.social

Is anyone else affected by EML/ Prepaid financial services data migration glitch? Carers have not been unpaid and families of vulnerable children and adults plus asylum seekers haven’t been able to access essential funds for a week. Yet the media is silent. Help! @martinlewis.moneysavingexpert.com

My muscles were tested carrying end of term gifts into school today. But it’s clear that such hydration is merited for the wonderful bunch of humans who have nurtured my orchid so well this year, despite his (much needed) EHCP being stuck in the system - 56 weeks since EHCNA request!

YouTube video by Spectrum Gaming Watch this if you think autism is bad ('Good To Be Me' music video)

Good to be me!
Sharing the most amazing video from @spectrumgaming.bsky.social a charity for Autistic young people in UK. Many Autistic people struggle with their autism diagnosis; they made a wonderful video about it.
youtu.be/0pibDq98raQ?...
I cry happy tears EVERYTIME I watch this - beautiful!

🧵Fit notes are a legal statement of whether you are unfit for work, based on medical judgment. If the pilot announced this week steers GPs and allied professionals to only issue a fit note if you engage with support plans, it will become conditionality by the back door.

Thought for the day: When we focus solely on how we diverge, we get on each other’s nerves! We must remember what connects humanity.

For SEND parents, the system is like being forever stuck in Minecraft survival mode. Creative mode- the place where you feel yourself- is a distant memory. You don’t dare dream anymore. The unlawful behaviour of LAs and the endless unknown waits break your spirit. Yet you keep going- you have to

Leaders should never avoid critique nor create chambers where they only listen through a filter created by their organisations culture. Courageous leadership embraces the discomfort of different views as a pivot for reflection and change. Innovation and sustainable improvement stems from bravery

@bfn-uk.bsky.social show exactly how much skilled breastfeeding support can contribute to the goals of the #NHS10YearPlan #FitForTheFuture #BreastfeedingMatters

These are wise words ❤️ Knowing the meaning of someone’s silence springs from relationship, connection and understanding!

Imagine having all the money in the world and spending $400m on this horrific piece of crap.

Can't shut off our idea switch - "That is another form of nervous system dysregulation..." Dr Cathleen King.
See longer video, plus to podcast, plus links to resources: How our greediness for creative ideas can support nervous system dysregulation thecreativemind.substack.com/p/how-our-gr...

image shows speech therapist with young boy colourised in bright blue

NEW POST: "Total Communication" is a "cutting-edge" approach to supporting children with #SpeechAndLanguage challenges. It's helping unlock children's potential at Meath School, run by charity, @speechandlanguk.bsky.social www.specialneedsjungle.com/d...