The Apostles of Abnormality

If there was one word I would get rid of forever – it would be that word ‘normal’ – Glasgow dad – parent of disabled child

Why do some people just love others not to be ‘normal’ – to be broken, bad, mad, wrong?

Profound malfunctions, subversive behaviour, the pathological can so easily be located in others who are different. Differences emerging from disability, culture, gender, sexuality, behaviour and reputation.

These apostles of abnormality, these ways of approaching others in thoughts and actions are close bed fellows with the forces of segregation and exclusion. Some of us are paid to be such apostles, others are just drawn to such ways through life experiences.

Who belongs with us? Surely not them? There must be a better more special or secure place for them to go and be incarcerated, treated, fixed or cured? Many people of all ages are ‘othered.’

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Person centred planning with energetic young people – the 10 Principles

He won’t sit still that long!

 How often do we hear those words when we describe a PATH or a MAP meeting likely to last up to 2 hours? This is particularly true of young people labelled with Autistic spectrum conditions (ASC), or attention deficit hyperactivity difficulties (ADHD) but often applied to those with social disadvantage, hyper-vigilant, learning or behaviour challenges. Often, they are boys but not always.

Previous meeting experiences and observations of the focus child in classrooms and other challenging situations lead those who know him best to suggest he has a short attention span and an inability to sit through a planning session.

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Seeking Hope and Honesty

We cannot afford the luxury of despair

Person centred planning using group facilitated processes such as MAP and PATH were originally created in North America and Canada by Jack Pearpoint, Marsha Forest, John O’Brien and colleagues. These planning processes have an amazing way of and eliciting honest exchanges and mobilising hope in the most difficult and challenging of situations. We at Inclusive Solutions after learning and facilitating such processes for over 20 years are still feeling the privilege of trusting a way of working that can truly engender hope and honesty. What other processes can really be relied upon to do this with any degree of success? How does this come about? What are we learning?

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Inclusion Now Magazine

Communication and Relationships – Colin Newton

Many young people who do not use spoken language to communicate want friends and positive relationships with those other youngsters they associate with.
 
Often times the same young people have intensive work from very thoughtful therapists and educators attempting to create technological as well as lower tech communication systems for their use. What is often striking is that the communication systems are not being used by other young people, only professionals trained in their use. The young person themselves can also sometimes seem reluctant to make use of them until confronted by the AAC teacher or Speech and Language Therapist. Many technical and even paper systems rely on 1: 1 exchange rather than for group participation. All this can be confusing and frustrating for all involved.
 
Friendships and social inclusion with other young people requires communication of some form and non-verbals only take us so far. After all -children go to school to be included by other children not just by the adults. Many times, we have encouraged families and educators to be intentional about building relationships, to create conditions in which friendship can grow. Our Circle of friends work is probably the most well recognised approach to this both in the UK and Eastern Europe. The approach depends upon a group of young people recruited through empathy building who want to create change around a focus student, doing whatever it will take to have invitations, phone calls and social media glow around them.
 

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Unconscious Bias Workshop

Naomi Williams on her first outing for Inclusive Solutions carries out delicate and sensitive training on tackling unconscious bias towards racism  and other forms of prejudice. Well received from the Nursery team from deepest Bermondsey – as you can hear.

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Contact Us

Colin Newton

0115 955 6045

Doug Newton

dnewton123@ntlworld.com

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