Kate Boot Neurodivergent Advocacy and Therapeutic Services

19/09/2025

19/09/2025

Why the gold infinity symbols?

The rainbow infinity symbol represents neurodiversity, and the gold infinity symbol is for autism.

Rainbow colours have come to symbolise diversity and acceptance through the LGBTQIA+ movement, so it makes sense that they would be chosen to promote neurodiversity too.

The infinity sign stands for eternity, harmony, balance, interconnectedness, inclusivity and limitless possibilities.

Combining the two feels like a powerful representation of the infinite and beautiful variation in human brains and nervous systems, and something to be embraced and accepted. Neurodiversity is natural and crucial to humanity's existence.

The rainbow infinity symbol's first recorded usage was Autistic Pride Day on June 18th, 2005. Autistic UK subsequently took the sign and turned it gold, a colour which was already being used to represent autism because Au is the symbol for gold in the periodic table.

16/09/2025

“How was your day at work?”

It sounds like such a simple question, right? For me, and I expect many others, the answer is layered with unseen effort, constant self monitoring, and the weight of being misread.

I’ve been on both sides of this.

As a manager, I worked hard to create neurodiversity-affirming spaces for team members; spaces where scripts were welcome, processing time was respected, and masking wasn’t a requirement for being seen as capable.

And yet, I know the other end, too: being othered, subtly excluded, or quietly positioned as “too much” or “too different.”

I also know these efforts don’t look the same for everyone. For those of us with multiple and intersecting identities, the felt sense of safety in the workplace is deeply shaped by other factors. Things like the immediate social and political environment people are living and working in, and prevailing opinions that decide whose difference is tolerated and whose is punished.

Neurodivergent people aren’t just doing the job in front of them; we’re doing the constant background work of self-regulation, translation, and survival in environments that weren’t designed with us in mind.

If this resonates with you, you’re not alone.

And if you’re in a position of leadership; your role in shifting this culture matters more than you may realise. You literally have so much within your gift, to provide support to neurodivergent team members that can literally keep them in work, well supported and in better health.

If you resonate with this, you’re not alone. Neurodivergent labour is real and it deserves to be recognised.

K 💜

14/09/2025

When the news came out earlier this week that Tom Bennett had been appointed as one of two attendance and behaviour ambassadors for the Department for Education, we were confused.

Then he went on to defend his strict behaviour policies, saying they help pupils with SEND to ‘flourish’. Our confusion became deep concern.

Our recent Support not sanctions report found that current behaviour approaches are frequently penalising, not including, pupils with speech and language challenges. A whopping 78% of teachers say children struggling to talk and understand words are being unfairly punished because of it.

How would you feel being lambasted with rules you don’t fully understand, and then be punished when you don't – or can't – comply?

We want Tom Bennett and the DfE to read the evidence and speak with children, their families and teachers to understand why support, not sanctions, is key for all to thrive.

They need to:
✅ Train every teacher to recognise and support speech and language challenges, including those working in behaviour hubs.
✅Embed proven communication support in classrooms and hub programmes, so every child gets help before reaching crisis point.
✅Join up behaviour initiatives with early language programmes to prevent difficulties escalating in the first place.
This is how we create schools where rules work for children, not against them.

🗨️ What should Tom Bennett do to make sure the new behaviour and attendance hubs are fair for all children?

12/09/2025

Following the launch of An Introduction to Unmasking Autistic Identity Safely, Neurokindred have kindly invited me to cover the topic in a live community event.

I’m delighted to have Kieran Rose, The Autistic Advocate, joining me to discuss what masking really is; why we do it; and the complexities that surround unmasking as part of the Thriving Autistically online wellbeing festival.

The festival runs from October 4th to 10th, and we’ll be speaking on Sunday 5th:

10.30am to 12.30pm BST (UK)
7.30pm to 9.30pm AEST (Brisbane)
5.30am to 7.30am EDT (USA East Coast)

Tickets are limited so please register in plenty of time to avoid missing out.

You can register for The Complexity of Unmasking Safely via https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeXl6wTLR3E075P1nJp1PjSB0pKnayhW7GS6HfeDGvjdGZ7Ww/viewform to guarantee your space.

Hopefully see you there!

None of the events are recorded so you’ll need to be able to attend live.

You can find details of the whole festival at https://neurokindred.com/thrivingautistically25/

Neurokindred are an Autistic-led counselling and peer support organisation based in Australia. They offer a wide range of free and low-cost interest and support groups for Autistic adults which can be accessed internationally via https://neurokindred.com/peergroups/ - no diagnosis is needed.

You can view all groups and events at https://teamup.com/ksf66azjqz2jdhrh2x and select your time zone in the bottom right hand corner.

An Introduction to Unmasking Autistic Identity Safely is available as a standalone download from https://payhip.com/jadefarrington or get it and all my other resources with any paid subscription at https://jadefarrington.substack.com/p/pdf-downloads-catalogue

Please share this with any groups or people who you think might benefit!

12/09/2025

There is still time to sign up for one of my two workshops tomorrow, for parent carers of autistic and ADHD children and young people, and autistic and ADHD adults (no formal diagnosis required). these will be held at The Mulberry Rooms, near Newton Abbot. 

Just head to my website to purchase a ticket and I’ll be in touch this evening with information about what to expect tomorrow 💜

12/09/2025

When your sensory world collides with your morning routine ☕✨

Three minutes before a meeting, you realise not one but THREE mugs smell too strong to use… so your coffee is delayed, you rush, and end up burning your finger.

It’s not just about being “picky” — it’s about sensory needs shaping daily life in ways people don’t always see.

Anyone else have mornings like this?

Thanks Ruth Jones Speech and Language Therapy for the dishwasher tablet brand recommendation 🫶🏼

12/09/2025

Thank you Jade Farrington - Counsellor and Therapist xx

My Page of the Week is Kate Boot Neurodivergent Advocacy and Therapeutic Services

Kate is an AuDHD sensory integration-trained speech and language therapist based in Devon. She works with Autistic and ADHD people and their families, as well as education, health and social care providers and workplaces.

On her page, Kate publishes neuroaffirming information and practical support from herself and others. She also posts details of the groups and workshops she runs to support Autistic and ADHD adults, and parents and carers.

Kate contributed to Ruth Jones' new book, 'Neurodiversity-Affirming Practice for Speech and Language Therapists: Supporting Curiosity, Compassion and Conversation'. It's available to pre-order ahead of its release on September 24th.

⚠️ Note: I feature pages because I find them informative and worth following. This doesn't mean I endorse or agree with everything they say. Psychology is a broad and constantly-evolving field, so it's fairly unlikely that they still agree with everything they've ever posted either! When research and lived experience improves our understanding then our views evolve. Please be highly sceptical of anyone who has never changed any of their opinions or who claims to have any universal truths. The human mind is highly varied so all we can ever know is what applies to many of us, not all. There will always be exceptions.

10/09/2025

Today is World Su***de Prevention Day.

When we talk about su***de, autistic people must be part of the conversation. Yet too often, our experiences are sidelined, misinterpreted, or erased. Another example of epistemic injustice, where autistic knowledge and voices are not recognised as valid.

The statistics are devastating:
-Autistic people are over 5x more likely to die by su***de than non-autistic people (Santomauro et al., 2024).
-1 in 3 autistic people experience suicidal thoughts.
-40% of su***de deaths in England (2021) were in people suspected to be autistic (Cassidy et al., 2022).

These numbers don’t reflect something “inherent” to autism. They reflect the cost of exclusion, bullying, late or missed diagnosis, masking, unmet needs, and systems that fail to provide safety or belonging.

Remembering autistic lives today means:
-Listening to autistic voices about what support truly helps.
-Naming systemic harms, not locating the problem inside autistic people.
-Making space for autistic-led knowledge in research, practice, and policy.

I want to acknowledge the important CPD and research contributions of Dr Rachel Moseley, whose presentation for Sunshine Support has deepened my understanding of this area. Her work, alongside colleagues like Dr Sarah Cassidy and Lisa Morgan, continues to push the conversation forward.

World Su***de Prevention Day must include autistic people, not as an afterthought, but as a central part of the discourse.

K 💜