Jodie Clarke, Children's Well-being Practitioner & Autism Specialist

14/11/2025

How exciting!!

My and my co-author No Pressure PDA's book is now available for pre-order in Amazon 😁😁😁

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Insider-Guide-PDA-Sally-Cat-ebook/dp/B0F98YLYR8

12/11/2025

📣📣My Upcoming Speaker Events📣📣

Over the next couple of weeks I can be found in Reading at the Parenting Special Children Conference talking about burnout, recovery and rewilding … as well as challenges faced by neurodivergent children in school…..

…..and then The Springfields Academy talking about neurodivergent demand avoidance. (This is an online & in person event)

Looking forward to meeting new faces 🙂

12/11/2025

📣📣📣📣📣There are now over 27 thousand of us here! 📣📣📣📣📣📣

How epic is that!! This page is not only for me to share insight, information and understanding but it is also a place I feel safe to share bits of my own world and experience and receive validation and solidarity… so a massive THANK YOU 🙏🏼 to everyone here xx

12/11/2025

We are excited to announce that this will be our first hybrid event, with the option to join Jodie in person here onsite at Springfields. There also remains the opportunity to join us virtually via Microsoft Teams. The event takes place on Wednesday 26th November, 10am-11.30am.

To secure your place for this event, either in person or virtually, please book via GoodHub, scan the QR code on the attached flyer, or email: community@springfieldsacademy.org

11/11/2025

Such wonderful feedback from Little Rainbows Doncaster Children's Autism Charity.

Thank you for having me and we will hopefully work together again 😊

10/11/2025

I’ve heard, from a parent, some amazing things about this team 😍

🌟 Meet the Team Behind SEND Empowerment Advocacy 🌟

We’re so proud to introduce the dedicated advocates and admin team who make up SEND Empowerment Advocacy — supporting families, empowering parents, and championing children and young people with SEND every step of the way. 💜

Together, we’re committed to ensuring that every child and young person receives the right support, and every parent’s voice is heard. 💪✨

Thank you to all the families who trust us to stand beside you — we’re here to help you navigate the process with knowledge, empathy, and strength.

10/11/2025

I am really honoured to be part of this conference having followed the work of PSC for many years....

I have just finished my talk..... I have two sessions speaking. The first will focus on recognising the signs and causes of autistic burnout and part 2 will be looking at recovery and re-wilding!

Last chance to join us!

PSC Neurodivergence and Emotional Regulation in Children and Young People Conference 2025.

10/11/2025

To add to my previous post, here's a list of nonspeaking advocates and allied advocates, professionals and organizations. Add to it in the comments if you know of others.

Bri Guerra, Nonspeaking Advocate for Change
Swarit Gopalan - My truisms unfiltered
Gregory C Tino
Niko Boskovic
Cards by Jakob
Danny With Words
Ben B. - "My Own Words: Reflections of a Non-Speaking Autistic
Fidgets and Fries, author of NY bestselling book A Day with no Words
Elizabeth Bonker and her nonprofit Communication 4 ALL
Hari Srinivasan, instructor at Berkeley, president of Spectrum at Cal, and fellow at Frist Center for Autism & Innovation
Nigh.functioning.Autism
The North Star and the Compass - blog
Neuromess
Fighting for my Voice: My life with Verbal Apraxia
SEEN: Spellers Empowering Education for Nonspeakers
Communication First
Communication for Education
Reach Every Voice
Jeremy's Vision
Autism Level UP
Thinking Person's Guide to Autism
The Occuplaytional Therapist

Helpful groups:
Spellerverse Connect
Ask Me, I’m an AAC user! (24 Hour Rule!)
Natural Language Acquisition Study Group
Autistic Researchers Researching Autism (ARRA)

10/11/2025

Recently, a professional wrote that presuming competence is dangerous because it leads us to overlook vulnerability. That by presuming competence, we fail to protect, fail to offer help, fail to teach and assume people already know skills they have not yet learned. The professional’s stance confuses competence with current performance and support with correction or training.

This is not presuming competence. This is neglect.

Presuming competence is not an instructional strategy nor a belief about skill level. Presuming competence doesn’t mean assuming the person already has every skill but not demanding of someone to prove their right to access before we are willing to help them learn.

To presume competence is to recognise that a person’s understanding, agency, emotional depth and capacity for meaning-making exist regardless of whether they can demonstrate those things in neuronormative ways.
We do not treat a person as less intelligent because they communicate, learn or express differently.
We should assume cognitive presence, even when expression is delayed, non-linear or happens through non-speech communication.
We must provide access, support, scaffolding and alternative communication methods without requiring someone to prove they deserve them.

Presuming competence is an ethical stance that does not reduce someone to what is observable, nor treat one's humanity as being contingent on performance.

Moreso, vulnerability and competence are not opposites... A person can be deeply vulnerable and competent at the same time. Presuming competence allows us to support that vulnerability with dignity, instead of controlling it through fear of what might happen if we get it wrong.

Bottom line is that we don’t presume finished ability. We presume capacity, presence and potential and we support the person in accessing and expressing it.

07/11/2025

Highly recommend this ….

Parents and carers 📣

Join us for our Introduction to SEND law training on 11 November, delivered by a member of our legal team virtually via Zoom.

To find out more, and to book a place, visit: https://www.ipsea.org.uk/Pages/Events/Category/upcoming-training-events-for-parents-and-carers

Your participation helps us to continue to provide free legal advice and resources to families who need our support. Thank you for supporting us!