Valli Jones

25/05/2025

✨🏡 Over the past year, I’ve been gently building something that brings together everything I’ve learned working alongside autistic young people, families, schools, and practitioners.

It’s called 𝗦𝗮𝗳𝗲 𝗛𝗼𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗦𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝗹𝘀 — a whole-school program grounded in the Safe House Framework. It’s designed to support schools in shifting from the pathology paradigm to a neurodiversity-affirming approach, with psychological safety at the centre.

It’s still early days. The pilot is unfolding. But it’s real, and it’s happening.

If you work in or with schools, I’d love for you to take a look, and share it with any anyone in your world who might be curious.

And if you’d like to be involved as an independent practitioner, that door is open too. Just follow the links on the site.❤️

Explore how neurodiversity affirming practices in schools can create inclusive learning environments for autistic students.

29/09/2024

❤️

03/09/2024

https://www.embracingneurodiversity.co

17/08/2024

𝗤: 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝘀𝗮𝗳𝗲𝘁𝘆, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗵𝘆 𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘁 𝘀𝗼 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲?

Relational safety is the freedom to 𝗯𝗲 𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗳𝗲𝗮𝗿 of judgement, criticism, or rejection.

It’s the 𝗳𝗲𝗹𝘁 𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘀𝗮𝗳𝗲𝘁𝘆 that comes with being understood, accepted, and supported.

For autistic young people, who so often feel like a square peg being 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗰𝗲𝗱 into a round hole, a safe relationship offers a moment of peace. It signals to their sympathetic nervous system - the system that detects signs of danger - that they are safe with this person. There is a physiological response. 𝗔 𝗺𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗲.

Establishing relational safety is both 𝘀𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲𝘅.

Relational safety is a 𝗳𝗲𝗹𝘁 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲. As an adult, I can offer a child freedom from judgement, criticism, and rejection, but if they don’t experience a felt sense of safety, relational safety does not exist. Its presence (or absence) is determined by the lived experience of each child. And without understanding, acceptance, and support, relational safety is often elusive.

As a collective, we have 𝘀𝗼 𝗺𝘂𝗰𝗵 𝘁𝗼 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻 about what it means to be autistic. We have 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘂𝗻𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻.

Our individual ability to offer autistic young people the experience of relational safety requires each of us, as adults, to 𝗱𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗼𝗳 𝘂𝗻𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴.

As a collective, we must ask ourselves this difficult question: 𝗔𝗿𝗲 𝘄𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗲𝗽𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗴 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗽𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻𝘅𝗶𝗲𝘁𝘆, 𝗱𝗲𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝘂𝗶𝗰𝗶𝗱𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗶𝗻 𝗻𝘂𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗳𝗮𝗿 𝗲𝘅𝗰𝗲𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗻𝗲𝘂𝗿𝗼𝘁𝘆𝗽𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹 𝗽𝗲𝗲𝗿𝘀?

As individuals, the question is: 𝗔𝗺 𝗜 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸?

I designed The Safe House Framework® programs to gently guide adults through the work of unlearning and relearning. The process is simple, but not always easy.

Link in comments

13/08/2024

Last week the Psychology Board of Australia (PSYBA) - that’s the regulating body for all psychologists in Australia - announced the required competencies for psychologists from 2025.

Guess what’s soon to be a required competency?

𝙄𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙜𝙪𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙚𝙙 𝙣𝙚𝙪𝙧𝙤-𝙖𝙛𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙥𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙘𝙚𝙨, 𝙮𝙤𝙪’𝙧𝙚 𝙎𝙋𝙊𝙏 𝙊𝙉!!! 🌈♾️🌈♾️

The tide is 𝙩𝙧𝙪𝙡𝙮 turning now 🌊

If the regulating body for psychologists has made neuro-affirming practices a required competency, it’s reasonable to expect the regulating bodies for other professions will follow.

Thank you to all the amazing neurodivergent humans who worked so hard to get us to this point 🙏❤️

x Valli

27/07/2024

𝘼𝙧𝙚 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙖 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙩𝙝 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙛𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙡 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙬𝙞𝙩𝙝 𝙣𝙚𝙪𝙧𝙤𝙙𝙞𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙜𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙘𝙝𝙞𝙡𝙙𝙧𝙚𝙣 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙜 𝙥𝙚𝙤𝙥𝙡𝙚? 𝙄𝙛 𝙨𝙤, 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙞𝙨 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙮𝙤𝙪…

I am oh so very pleased to say that The Safe House Framework® training program for health professionals is OPEN.

This program is for health professionals from all disciplines who want to offer truly affirming supports to autistic children and young people, including (but not limited to) 𝙨𝙥𝙚𝙚𝙘𝙝 𝙥𝙖𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙡𝙤𝙜𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙨, 𝙤𝙘𝙘𝙪𝙥𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙡 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙖𝙥𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙨, 𝙥𝙨𝙮𝙘𝙝𝙤𝙡𝙤𝙜𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙨, 𝙘𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙨𝙚𝙡𝙡𝙤𝙧𝙨, 𝙗𝙚𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙞𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙨𝙪𝙥𝙥𝙤𝙧𝙩 𝙥𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙧𝙨, 𝙨𝙘𝙝𝙤𝙤𝙡-𝙗𝙖𝙨𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙖𝙥𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙨, 𝙨𝙤𝙘𝙞𝙖𝙡 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙠𝙚𝙧𝙨, 𝙙𝙞𝙚𝙩𝙞𝙘𝙞𝙖𝙣𝙨, 𝙥𝙝𝙮𝙨𝙞𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙖𝙥𝙞𝙨𝙩𝙨, 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙢𝙚𝙙𝙞𝙘𝙖𝙡 𝙥𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙧𝙨.

It’s a three stage program, and it’s designed to facilitate a paradigm shift. It’s a holistic, detailed, and nuanced professional development program, with elements of deep introspection, reflection, and personal development work woven throughout. It includes access to monthly group sessions, with the opportunity to process, deepen, and consolidate your learning within a container of relational safety. The framework fits 𝙖𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙 your unique skill set - gently guiding, shaping, and nourishing your support of autistic young people.

Beyond the paradigm shift, The Safe House Framework is a 𝙎𝙔𝙎𝙏𝙀𝙈 designed to help teams work together to support autistic kiddos.

There is a parent education program with over 800 parents currently enrolled, and the feedback has been heartwarming. The parent program is 💯 free, because my mission is to improve the mental health of autistic young people, and quality parent education is an essential ingredient, so it needs to be as accessible as humanly possible.

The educator program (I’m still working on) dives deep into universal design, individualised adjustments, and social inclusion.

Level one of the health professional program mirrors the parent program, to make it easy for you to refer parents to specific pieces of education. Levels two and three bring the framework to life, and are equal parts professional and personal development.

I’m offering the monthly sessions for participants to come together. They will be loosely structured, and supportive. Paradigm shifts don’t happen easily, and we’re human. It’s an opportunity to talk shop and process in a safe space.

I drew a blank when it came to pricing the program. The amount of thought, time, money, and sacrifice that has gone into creating The Safe House has been 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙙. To say juggling the demands of family, private practice, creating a program, perimenopause, burnout, and capitalism has been a struggle is an understatement! The prices I settled on balance my passion for advocacy with long-term viability, and honour my commitment to providing exceptionally good value. I would love for you to join.

There’s more information here 👉
https://courses.embracingneurodiversity.co/

23/07/2024

"Absolutely amazing"
--Director, Educational Leadership
FREE webinar for parents, educators, and health professionals supporting autistic students 🌈♾️ Please WATCH and SHARE 🙏

In this 50 minute webinar, Valli Jones, an autistic Clinical Psychologist, offers her perspective on the disconnect between the education system and the autistic students it is struggling to engage, and proposes a way forward. "Absolutely amazing." -- Director, Educational Leadership

21/07/2024

I'm not great at social media, but you can find out all about my newest project on the site for my online school
👇👇
https://courses.embracingneurodiversity.co/
I hope to see you in The Safe House community!
Valli x

04/05/2024

04/05/2024

Parent education is the foundation of neuro-affirming care for autistic children and young people.
The Safe House Framework for Parents is a detailed, holistic, step-by-step guide to affirming parenting, and it's FREE for parents of ND kids 💗
https://courses.embracingneurodiversity.co/courses/safe-house-parents