Assistant Professor of Mental Health Nursing at Northumbria University, Neurodiversity Keynote Speaker/Trainer, and PhD in Parental ADHD Diagnostic Journey
I've recently been reading Kestral Gaian's "Twenty Eight: Stories from the section 28 generation". It is a series of both empowering and harrowing accounts of LGBTQIA+ writers on their experiences of living under Section 28 within UK education (1988 to 2003). The "Don't say gay" law, which made it a criminal offence for teachers to educate my generation on LGBTQ+ existence (let alone rights/needs/support/humanity) continues to have a lasting dynasty of horror, discrimination, and stigmatisation for millions of people today. I often think about Section 28, a policy that actively suppressed LGBTQ+ education, creating a culture of fear, ignorance, and bigotry. It’s a stark reminder of what happens when education is stifled: prejudice takes root, and vulnerable/minority communities suffer. Now, given evidence suggests that neurodivergent people are more likely to be/identify as LGBTQ+, with some papers suggesting autistic people are eight times more likely to identify as LGBTQ+. It is vital that we not only consider the education of neurodivergence, but the intersection of Neurodivergence, sexuality, and gender from a position which acknowledges the sociocultural landscape of my generations entire educational journey. How did our autistic/ADHD friends, family, and colleagues make sense of a schooling system which denied their LGBTQ+ identity as well as their neurodivergent one? One of my proudest accomplishments to date was getting funding to have the incredible PhD student Jo McCormick work with me on their doctorate exploring the lived experience of LGBTQ+ parents of neurodivergent children this October. I suspect that the lasting after-effects of section 28 will be echoed throughout the findings both explicitly, and implicitly.
Senior Regional Marketing Specialist at Concentrix, a global technology and services leader.
3moThanks for sharing Tom - So excited to get to work - let's goooooooooo!