Dr Donald Maciver

OT Lecturer @QMUniversity | Research @NAITscotland | participation | inclusion | neuro-affirming practice | complex interventions | @CIRCLEcollabor1 | Gàidhlig

[Dr Donald Maciver @Donmacbru]

1/🧠 New study on waiting times for a neurodevelopmental diagnosis in Scotland. 408 people (child+adult) majority #autism and #ADHD. Autism Research -https://t.co/4pvtFBe2kD #Neurodiversity.

[Dr Donald Maciver @Donmacbru]

13/🧑‍⚕️Study by NAIT, working to improve outcomes for neurodivergent individuals through evidence-informed, neuro-affirming practices. @NAITScotland

[Dr Donald Maciver @Donmacbru]

1/🧠 New study on waiting times for a neurodevelopmental diagnosis in Scotland. 408 people (child+adult) majority #autism and #ADHD. Autism Research -https://t.co/4pvtFBe2kD #Neurodiversity.

[Dr Donald Maciver @Donmacbru]

12/💡Neurodevelopmental differences are lifelong but need not be considered deficits. Diagnosis provides support, peers, and positive self-identity. Diagnosis should be available to all who need it.

[NAITScotland @NAITScotland]

All set up for two days of professional learning sessions for staff working in and with schools in Orkney ⁦@OrkneyCouncil⁩ ⁦@AffirmingScot⁩ ⁦@ScotGovEdu⁩ ⁦@scotgovhealth⁩

[NAITScotland @NAITScotland]

What a day! Thank you to our friends and Education and Health colleagues in Orkney for such a positive response to Key Messages and taking steps towards being a neuro-affirming community 😊

[Naomi Fisher @naomicfisher]

I was talking to a grandmother last week about schooling. ‘I can see the difference’ she said. ‘When my children were young, primary school was relaxed. If the weather was good, they went outside and ran around. If they were sick, they stayed at home. Now with my grandchildren they are seated in desks for more of the day and if they are ill, they are worried that they’ll lose their 100% attendance for the term. The pressure is on to pass their phonics test when they are six and then to learn their times tables at speed by the time they are nine. They feel it and their parents feel it too’.

There’s lots of talk about SEND (special educational needs and disabilities) at the moment, and how increasing numbers of children are being identified as SEND. It’s less common to ask questions about what SEND really means, and whether the education system creates more children ‘with SEND’ as it becomes more pressured and rigid.

For what SEND really means is that a child cannot learn in the way which mainstream education expects. They cannot keep up with expectations, either for academic work or for behaviour. SEND is something which happens in the interaction between a child and the education system. In a system where no 6-year-old is expected to sit still and learn to write their name, then a 6-year-old who just wants to run around outside isn't a problem. In a system where everyone is meant to be able to read by age 6, then they are.

We know from research that if a child is young in their year, they are more likely to be identified as ‘having SEND’. We know that summer born boys are far more likely to be identified as ‘having SEND’ than autumn born girls. We know that the impact of this immaturity resonates through the years, with the youngest in the year doing less well at GCSE. We know that the number of children ‘with SEND’ is going up year on year.

It's not really plausible that more children each year have difficulties in learning, nor that being born in August makes you more likely to have learning problems than if you are born a few weeks later in September.

It’s far more likely that in the push to ‘drive up standards’ the education system is becomes less, not more, suited to how children develop and learn. It’s more likely that the system is penalising immaturity – and children are inherently immature. That isn’t a lack or a defect, it’s a defining part of childhood.

As the education system becomes more rigid and pressured, we’d expect more children not to be able to manage without adaptations. This is exactly what we see. Those children are holding up the flag for all the others, saying that this system is not child-friendly and doesn’t take account of developmental needs and differences.

What if, instead of having higher expectations of the children, we had higher expectations of the education system? What if those expectations were of flexibility, reducing pressure and prioritising lifelong learning and wellbeing instead of short-term testing?

What if we saw the increasing number of children ‘with SEND’ as a sign that the system isn’t working for the many ways in which children develop, rather than a sign that more and more children have learning difficulties? We’ll never sort the ‘SEND crisis’ until we start looking at SEND as an interaction between children and the education system. The more rigid the system is, the more children it will fail.

Illustration by @_MissingTheMark from the book A Different Way to Learn.

[Dr Donald Maciver @Donmacbru]

🚨 PhD research at QMU on Menstruation in Autistic People with Learning Disability. Looking for parents & professionals to take part! 💬 Please get in touch. Your help can make a big impact! #Research #Autism #LearningDisability

[Autistic Girls Network @AutisticGirls_]

Embracing Autistic identity can transform an individual's mental health. Growing up feeling misunderstood or pressured to ""fit in"" with neurotypical norms can lead to anxiety & depression. When met with understanding & support they can thrive, feeling valued for who they are.

[Autistic Girls Network @AutisticGirls_]

OCD shares some traits with autism, but it also shares something else: the internalising of symptoms. Like autism, internalised OCD can change how it appears on the outside, making it more likely to be missed or misinterpreted. @OCDUK  @ocdaction  #OCDweek #OCDawareness

[Autistic Girls Network @AutisticGirls_]

Today is #WorldMenopauseDay and we're exploring  the different ways autistic people experience menopause. On 13th November we welcome Dr Aimee Grant to our #AGNConversations series to talk about the Autism: From Menstruation to Menopause Project.
Join us!
https://t.co/PsiVR8OiFe