National Autism Implementation Team

Educational Animation Videos about Autistic Experiences Our two new neuro-affirming educational animation videos celebrate Autistic experiences and perspectives.

Check out @thrivingautistic.bsky.social's 2 new neuro-affirming educational animation videos celebrating Autistic experiences and perspectives.
www.thrivingautistic.org/autistic-exp...

♦️Personal Leadership Programme♦️
NOW OPEN for 2026 Cohort

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elizabethcasson.org.uk/your-develop...

#Bemoreelizabeth
#ots

You can’t see DLD. Awareness, understanding and support can make all the difference for people with #DevLangDis Make it your mission to find out more this #DLDday!! 💜💛💜

In Motion (2022) — Pikaia Films In Motion (2022) In Motion sheds light on the emotional experience of autism, normalising and celebrating different forms of stimming (self-stimulatory...

This is possibly THE best video about stimming I have ever seen by Sophie Broadgate. I have shared quite a lot over the past few years but may be not shared here... enjoy!
pikaiafilms.co.uk/In-Motion-2022

Read more here from @stimpunks.org : stimpunks.org/glossary/sti...

Shared via Stimpunks following today's community solidarity session in our Discord server where we were discussing what being neuro-affirming really means to us.

Why Race and Autism Cannot Be Separated in Lived Experience The comment (below from a substack user) suggests that being Black and being autistic are “two different things that don’t have a significant effect on each other.” This statement overlooks the realit...

phenomenallyautistic.substack.com/p/why-race-a...

Promotional image for a free webinar titled 'Developmental Language Disorder' by Speech and Language UK, featuring a smiling individual wearing a yellow scarf. The event is scheduled for Wednesday 15th October from 3:30 PM to 4:15 PM, with a sign-up invitation.

Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) affects 2 in 30 children, yet many have never heard of it. Because you can’t see DLD, it’s often missed, and support is lost.

We’re running a free webinar for educators ahead of #DLD Day.

Sign up: https://bit.ly/4gvUvoF

AuDHD woman who forgot to text you back a decade ago wondering if it’s too late An AuDHD woman who forgot to reply to your message ten years ago has spent the subsequent decade deliberating over how to re-instigate contact, sources have claimed.  Freya Emerson, 35, reportedly…

Freya Emerson, 35, reportedly failed to respond to your casual request for a coffee as she didn’t know how to explain to you that she was overwhelmed and unavailable without making it sound like she didn’t like you – and has felt terrible about it ever since.

Optimising general practice support for autistic adults: a realist review protocol - Systematic Reviews Background Mental and physical health conditions are more common in autistic than non-autistic people, including anxiety, depression, suicidality, gastrointestinal problems, cancer, epilepsy, and heart disease. General practice is often the first point of contact for patients, yet research has found that autistic people face barriers to healthcare, report lower satisfaction with healthcare, and have more unmet health needs than non-autistic people. This can be due to misunderstandings about the needs of autistic people, different communication styles, the clinic environment, and challenges making and getting to appointments, compounded by slow dissemination of research findings. Our aim is to find out how, why, and to what extent general practice supports autistic adults with and without intellectual disabilities (ID) throughout their lives, in order to suggest improvements to practice. Methods We will conduct a realist review which is a theory-driven systematic review. Electronic databases will be searched including MEDLINE, PsycInfo, EMBASE, the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, CINAHL, Scopus, ASSIA and grey literature sources (e.g. Google Scholar). To be included articles must concern general practice, autistic adults aged 18 and over, contain information relevant to a UK setting, and be written in English. Any study design or article type may be included and articles will be assessed for relevance and rigour. In line with realist synthesis methods we will identify relevant contexts, mechanisms and outcomes and develop a programme theory to explain how, why, and when general practice optimally supports (or not) autistic adults. We will also seek to identify resources that are available for and used by general practice to support autistic adults. We will involve stakeholders in each stage of the review including autistic individuals, family members, and healthcare professionals (including general practice staff). The review will be reported in line with the RAMESES publication standards. Discussion The findings will inform guidance for i) general practice about potentially helpful adaptations to service, and ii) autistic people to help them gain the support they need. This will help to improve access to and engagement with general practice care, and thus potentially improve the health and wellbeing of autistic individuals. Systematic review registration PROSPERO CRD42024545403.

📢 Delighted to see the protocol paper for our realist review has now been published. In this review we are looking at how general practice supports #autistic adults (or not)- when, how, & in what circumstances. This paper describes the steps we're taking (Cont. ⬇️)

link.springer.com/article/10.1...

YouTube video by AssistiveWare Nonspeaking people have #MoretoSay

We know that nonspeaking people have #MoretoSay. October is AAC Awareness Month, and AAC app maker @assistiveware.bsky.social is celebrating with a short AAC understanding video. Please watch, take to heart, and share.

youtu.be/jGpglhW7I54?... #AACawarenessMonth #nonspeaking #neurodiversity

Ever wondered how you talk about #autism #adhd and #neuro-affirming in Gaelic?
You can catch a short clip about the #Neuro-affirming Community of Practice Scotland event in Inverness on BBC Alba’s An La 02.10.25 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

A photo of 3 women in the Inverness Town House. Lorna from NAIT (left) Dr Mary Doherty (middle) Marion from NAIT (right)

@autisticdoctor.bsky.social Always a pleasure to have time with Dr Mary Doherty.Thank you for your wisdom, friendship and determination to change the world to a more inclusive and #neuro-affirming place where people can be #confidentlyautistic and #confidentlyneurodivergent
Onwards!!

Neuro-affirming Community of Practice Scotland Bulletin 3 (October 2025) - National Autism Implementation Team A community update sharing examples of steps towards neuro-affirming practice from across Scotland.

nait.scot/document/neu...
A huge thank you to everyone who made our 1st Neuro-affirming Community of Practice Scotland event in Inverness a success.
🌟Keynotes Mary Doherty & Mhairi Black
🌟Lightning talks
🌟The Townhouse staff
🌟BBC Alba
🌟Neuro-affirming public sector participants
🌟 our NAITteam

Embracing neurodiversity affirmative practice: A path to inclusive support for autistic people By shifting the focus from ‘fixing’ individuals to understanding and supporting their unique needs, neuroaffirmative practice fosters inclusive, adaptable environments where everyone can thrive.

New blog for @autisticsociety.bsky.social
Embracing neurodiversity affirmative practice: A path to inclusive support for Autistic people
by myself and @tanyaadkin.bsky.social with signposting & further resources.
www.autism.org.uk/advice-and-g...

Beautiful!

Nice commitment to neuro-affirming care from Australian Psychologists from December 2025
psychology.org.au/insights/neu...

NASUWT Scotland is proud to be hosting a workshop event for neurodivergent members aimed at tackling workplace inequality.

📅 Sat 1st Nov
📍 Edinburgh

Don't miss this exciting opportunity - register today!

📧 scotland@mail.nasuwt.org.uk

THE ENCHANTED FOREST BECOMES FIRST MAJOR LIGHT TRAIL TO INTRODUCE SPECIALIST COMMUNICATION BOARDS THE ENCHANTED FOREST BECOMES FIRST MAJOR LIGHT TRAIL TO INTRODUCE SPECIALIST COMMUNICATION BOARDS

Great work on communication access - Tayside www.enchantedforest.org.uk/the-enchante...

NAIT Further and Higher Education Report 2025 - National Autism Implementation Team Supports and Accommodations for Neurodivergent Students in Higher and Further Education Settings: A Review of Provision in Scotland, National Autism Implementation Team.

A new NAIT report about support provision for neurodivergent students in Higher and Further Education in Scotland is published on our website today
nait.scot/document/nai...

www.scottishautism.org/sites/defaul...
An important report for health & social care colleagues planning for and delivering neurodevelopmental pathways with an aim of better meet the needs of autistic people @rcpsych.bsky.social @rcpch.bsky.social @rcotpolicyscot.bsky.social @bpsofficial.bsky.social

City St George's is conducting a survey of UK SLTs working with autistic people to find out whether and how they are adapting to be more neurodiversity affirming. This should take around 10 mins. #bskyspeechies #mySLTday
Click here to take part:
cityunilondon.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_...

In the sky above a garden fence, a bright rainbow is visible with a fainter rainbow above it

It was great seeing so much research about trans autistic experiences at #AutismEurope2025 today! Some call being trans x autistic 'living under a double rainbow'. This picture of an actual double rainbow was posted today by someone in my local trans group in the UK! Shared with permission #AEC2025

Come and chat to NAIT about our posters
👉🏼 Identifying contexts that facilitate #neuro-affirming practice in adult health and social care nait.scot/document/nai...
👉🏽 Ingredients of #neurodevelopmental pathway model nait.scot/document/nai... #AEC2025

communication4all.org/c4a-academy/
Great presentation at #AEC2025 by Elizabeth Bonker giving voice to typers and non-speaking people who can communicate through typing

🌟 Calling Autistic Researchers! 🌟

We’re building a searchable database of Autistic researchers to celebrate Autistic excellence + connect researchers, students, allies & community.

✅ Learn more and join our database here: www.aidanlab.ca/autistic-res...

Join us and be part of something bigger! 💙

Photo of person looking at a poster

View of a poster on a board

Poster on a board

Our poster from the How I Communicate project is up at @autismeurope.bsky.social It summarises findings from our systematic review into minimally & non-speaking (prevalence and terminology) in the UK. #AECongress2025 #AutismEurope25 @elainemcgreevy.bsky.social @sxu33.bsky.social

NAIT AEC We Were Expecting You! Poster 2025 - National Autism Implementation Team NAIT Poster for Autism Europe Conference 2025: We Were Expecting You!

After lunch come and see our poster about professional learning ‘We were expecting you!’ resources for student teachers and current staff working in and with primary schools in Scotland #AEC2025
nait.scot/document/nai...

NAIT Neuro-affirming Recruitment Guidance 2025 - National Autism Implementation Team NAIT Neuro-affirming Recruitment Guidance for employers.

Adjustments and supports in #neuro-affirming recruitment for #autistic people are not rocket science and often cost nothing
nait.scot/document/nai...
#AEC2025

NAIT Key Messages for Perinatal Teams (2024) - National Autism Implementation Team NAIT Key Messages tailored to meet the needs of staff working in perinatal care.

#Neurodivergent #autistic #ADHD people are more likely to experience dysregulation or mental ill-health in the #Perinatal period. This guide is for #neuro-affirming practitioners to support better identification and experiences for women and birthing parents #AEC2025
nait.scot/document/nai...