September 2021 Parenta magazine

Celebrating difference and
neurodivergence: part 6
Being different is brilliant!
This article is the last article in a series of six from Sensory Engagement and Inclusion Specialist,
Joanna Grace. The activities described in each article build up to form a toolkit for celebrating
difference and neurodivergence within your setting in a way that will benefit both the children
and the adults. Joanna runs online training courses focused on strategies for supporting
differently-abled children and promoting inclusive practice. Click here for more information.
We have come on such an adventure
together! If you joined this article series
part-way through, I encourage you to
return to the start and explore them all.
We have looked at how being open and
frank about differences can help everyone
achieve to their fullest, and explored
how even the tiniest adjustments in the
language we use to frame difference
can make an enormous impact on the
outcomes for a child in the long term, (and
for ourselves and our colleagues).
I have continually challenged you to try to
talk about difference in a non-judgemental
way. And I know, if you’ve gone on this
journey with me, that you will have
grown more and more reflective about
what constitutes judgement within your
language; it can be so much more subtle
than labelling things as good or bad, tiny
little turns of phrase can imply value and
create judgement.
On one hand, paying attention to the
language we use in this way can seem
fussy, pointless, petty, even irritating. But
those feelings are often initial impressions.
Once explored, adapting the language you
use actually gets exciting, as you realise
the power for good that you have at the tip
of your tongue. All the more so in the early
years as you are the start of the stories
that carry children with them through their
lives.
Hopefully, you have also felt the benefit
for yourself and your colleagues. If you
can create a culture in your setting where
differences are accepted, understood
and not judged, then you will work in an
environment where everyone feels able
to be themselves. And I cannot underline
enough how beneficial that is to people’s
well-being, children and adults.
The opposite is to work in a space where
differences are judged. Even the judging
of relatively minor differences can create
this kind of atmosphere. And in such
a setting, you might not see greater
differences because people will hide them.
Adults and children will suppress aspects
of their character, withhold information
about themselves. Trying to appear the
same as others takes a toll on a person,
it costs them energy and self-esteem. It
diminishes people and makes your setting
a grimmer place to be.
Everyone wants to be somewhere where
they are embraced as who they are and
how they are right now, a setting that
understands and accepts difference is
just such a place. Tiny adjustments in our
language can trigger big adjustments
in attitude. The language we use
fundamentally underpins the culture we
create in our settings. It is so worth doing
and you’ve been doing it! So this article is
to throw a party for that, it is a big hurrah.
Difference is brilliant. We are all different
and my goodness what a fantastic thing
that is, wouldn’t it be dull if we were all
the same? Society needs different brains,
people who approach things from different
angles, who have different skill sets. The
risk can be in education that we offer one
way of succeeding, we measure particular
aspects of achievement and miss the rest.
We all know a ‘one size fits all’ approach fits
one person and not the rest.
The children in your setting have explored
their external differences (using the activities
in article one) and thought about how
they have different thoughts and likes and
dislikes to their peers (using the activities in
articles two and three). They’ve investigated
how we sense and feel things differently
to one another (using the activity in article
four) and begun to understand that one of
the consequences of these differences is
that they will each have different skills and
abilities (using the activity in article five).
How fantastic is that? How amazing is it
that such little people can approach such
big topics? Imagine a future where they are
grown up and in charge and understand
how to use their own unique skillsets! You
are a part of creating that future. So, for
now: celebrate!
Talk to the children about all their
adventures and activities so far and
celebrate your differences by colouring
in rainbow brains. All this time I’ve been
challenging you on your language, well
here is a new challenge, how blingy can
you make those brains? How much glitter
and paint, and collage material do you
have in your setting? Decorate your brains
and share them with me on social media.
Let’s create a narrative of pride in our
neurodiversity together!
Joanna provides in-person and online
training to settings looking to enhance their
inclusive practice for more information visit
www.thesensoryprojects.co.uk where you
can also find resources to help you include
children of all abilities. Joanna is active on
social media and welcomes connection
requests from people curious about
inclusive practice.
Joanna Grace
Joanna Grace is an international
Sensory Engagement and Inclusion
Specialist, trainer, author, TEDx speaker
and founder of The Sensory Projects.
Consistently rated as “outstanding” by
Ofsted, Joanna has taught in
mainstream and special school settings,
connecting with pupils of all ages and
abilities. To inform her work, Joanna
draws on her own experience from her
private and professional life as well as
taking in all the information she can
from the research archives. Joanna’s
private life includes family members
with disabilities and neurodiverse
conditions and time spent as a
registered foster carer for children with
profound disabilities.
Joanna has published four practitioner
books: “Multiple Multisensory Rooms:
Myth Busting the Magic”, “Sensory
Stories for Children and Teens”,
“Sensory-Being for Sensory Beings”
and “Sharing Sensory Stories and
Conversations with People with
Dementia”. and two inclusive sensory
story children’s books: “Voyage to
Arghan” and “Ernest and I”. There is
new book coming out soon called ‘”The
Subtle Spectrum” and her son has
recently become the UK’s youngest
published author with his book, “My
Mummy is Autistic”.
Joanna is a big fan of social media and
is always happy to connect with people
via Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
Website:
thesensoryprojects.co.uk
16 September 2021 | parenta.com
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