Aurora Consulting

21/10/2026

Ok one more animal video, this time from London Zoo.

Tortoises are a long time interest of mine, I absolutely adore them. So seeing giant tortoises was an absolute dream for me! These beautiful creatures are absolutely fascinating.

20/10/2026

I could have watched this lil squirrel at Kew Gardens day. It was a genuine delight to see it scampering around. The Autistic glee was strong!

I had not appreciated just how enormous Kew is! You can easily spend all day there and not see everything. It’s definitely on my return visit list!

19/10/2026

I’m home!

After a week down in London I am back home again.

I don’t think I’ve had such a busy holiday for a long time and I. Am. Shattered. But so very happy to be back in my own home again.

We had a wonderful time and I am sure I’m gonna share some videos and pics in the next few days once I’ve caught my breath! Meanwhile here is a very happy me pretending to have parrot wings. They beautifully went well with my mega comfy dungarees! One of my fave things at the zoo next to the animals. The animals were awesome.

19/10/2026

A huge bundle of neuroaffirming resources is here - in support of The Autistic Advocate!

Dozens of advocates and practitioners - including me! - have donated their resources for free so ALL proceeds support Kieran Rose, The Autistic Advocate, and family while Kieran undergoes cancer treatment.

There are more than 40 neuroaffirming resources included in the bundle - including an ebook of Morven’s First Autistic Pride and our Autistic Relationships webinar - from huge names in the community making this is an unmissable collaboration offering amazing value for individuals, families, and professionals.

The Autistic Advocate is dedicated to creating positive, sustainable and productive change that betters the lives of Autistic people, young and old. Their work has reached millions of people, and transformed the way in which Autistic people are perceived.

We hope this bundle gets affordable neuroaffirming resources into the hands of as many individuals, families and professionals as possible, while giving Kieran the chance to rest and convalesce as needed.

You’ll find a treasure trove of toolkits, webinars, courses, workbooks, ebooks, workshops, prize draws, and more from creators in the United Kingdom, Ireland, United States, and Australia.

This bundle brings together an astonishingly massive range of information and support from leading names in neuroaffirming advocacy and practice – all of whom have learned from Kieran

Jade Farrington - Counsellor and Therapist
Kristy Forbes - Autism & ND Support
Neurodivergent Rebel
Kelly Mahler
Jodie Clarke, Children's Well-being Practitioner & Autism Specialist
NDwise Hub
Munira - Children's Occupational Therapist
AMASE - Autistic Mutual Aid Society
Autistically Scott
Littlepuddins.ie
Laura Hellfeld Neurodivergent Nurse Consulting
Alice Bramhill
GROVE - Online Community & Mentoring for Autistic Young People

And me

Find it at The Autistic Advocate dot com / Bundle

18/10/2026

Buckle up folks, it’s another “what on Earth did I just read on social media” post. The ableism is strong with this one.

“Fidget toys may work for 0.1% or so kids.
But by and large, they are one of two things:
⁃ a work avoidance tool enabled by a school's opt out 'whenever you feel the need' culture
⁃ a product of social contagion i.e. saw one on TikTok so I 'need' one.”

This was a post from teacher that FB decided I would be interested in. And I am interested in it so I can talk about how very ableist it is.

First off - fidget toys aren’t just toys. They are tools which help many people focus. As a teacher I constantly had a ball of BluTac in my hands when I was teaching. This helped me to focus on what I was talking about. If I couldn’t access the Blu Tac, I struggled! Stimming made me a better teacher.

0.1%? Where on earth is this figure from? Given how prevalent being Autistic alone is I’d argue they are much more useful than that. Pulling stats out of thin air doesn’t help anyone and just contributes to stigma and stereotypes.

And kids. Nope, not just kids. Adults benefit from them too, and it’s good for kids to see adults using and normalising them too.

If a child is avoiding work then the fidget tool isn’t the problem. As a teacher I’d approach my pupil and see what else they needed to start the task. Do they need more information? More confidence? Some clarification? They don’t need a fidget tool to avoid work.

“Opt out whenever you feel the need” is different to “take a break as you need it”. And the key word here is “need”. Taking a break whenever you need one is something we should be teaching all kids so they can learn to tune in to what their bodies need.

“Product of a social contagion” is frankly extremely offensive. Fidget tools aren’t a fad, they aren’t fashion statements, and they aren’t going anywhere. We have fidgeted since time immemorial and we always will. All humans stim, some of us need to do it more than others.

Stimming helps with:

Concentration
Memory retention
Memory recall
Relaxation
Emotional regulation
And sometimes it’s just good fun!

Not every child or adult in a classroom will benefit from stimming and fidget tools, but for those who do, it’s essential they get access to good quality tools that meet their needs.

18/10/2026

It’s World Menopause Day so I want to give a big shout out to my fellow peri and post menopausal folks!

I’ve gone through two menopauses - a chemical menopause for 6 months, and then a medical menopause after my hysterectomy. And both were very different.

Accessing support for menopause as someone who is Autistic can be incredibly tough - our bodies don’t always react to medications and other supports the way people expect them to! But sometimes they do and either way, there is help out there.

It’s always worth remembering that it’s not just women who go through menopause - trans men and many non binary, agender, gender fluid, and otherwise gender q***r folks experience it too.

Gamifying menopause definitely helps me, especially in my early days where hot flushes came thick and fast. Counting the number of times I shed and put on layers of clothing became a good distraction during staff meetings and training sessions!

Now I am 4 years post menopause I am seeing a decrease in some of those symptoms which caused me grief. Fewer night sweats. Sensory experiences feel less like a roll of the dice. It’s not gone completely but it’s much more manageable.

A few things I’ve found helpful:

* Layered clothing can be very helpful for regulating temperature
* A large scarf or pashmina also helps with temperature regulation
* It’s ok to have 2 separate duvets on your bed to switch between
* Cooling sheets and pillows can really help, especially in the summer
* Meeting my sensory needs can help with emotional dysregulation
* It’s ok to take more breaks if I find myself getting dysregulated
* It is a huge transition and it’s ok to have higher support needs at this time
* I can talk to the GP about medication, mental health support, or any other needs they may be able to help with
* I am not alone, and talking with others going through the same thing helps

This year’s theme is chronic pain at midlife - and I think it’s great to point out that menopause can bring on more aches and pains. And again, we don’t just have to put up with this, managing chronic pain is a big job but it’s worth seeking support for it.

Head over to our blog section to read this piece on being Autistic and menopausal.

***rmenopause

16/10/2026

“How are you?”

I never know how to answer that.

I have learned over a long time that the expected answer is “fine thanks, how are you?”, especially when it’s a “meet in the street or supermarket and we are both gonna keep walking” type situation. It took me till my 40s before figuring that out.

But what if that’s not true?

Small talk does not come naturally to me and my instinct is to answer honestly and fully.

What if I am super happy but worry that might overwhelm the other person as it’s overwhelming me a little? What if I am feeling really down? As someone with chronic pain and physical disabilities that has a huge influence on how I am but I have learned from experience that’s not always what people want to hear about!

What is some areas of my life are absolutely rocking and others are really difficult? What if work is great but my partner is struggling with their health? Or if my home life is wonderful and work is tricky?

What if I don’t want to answer this question fully but don’t want to be inauthentic? I am really uncomfortable with half truths.

These days I often reply with, “I’m really not sure how to answer that but I am happy to see you!” When I am happy to see them of course! Sometimes I’ll reply that it’s a complicated answer but then lead with an aspect of my life that is going well. Or sometimes not so well if it’s someone I trust. If I’m in a place with huge sensory overwhelm I now sometimes mention that too - “I sure am glad I brought my Loops today since it’s so noisy, how are you?”

Sometimes I just bat it right back to the other person without answering at all but my good friends are wise to this and usually recognise that reply for the deflection it is. They then give me space to answer in my own time. I love those friends.

I remain ever curious though why people as “how are you?” when they don’t want a complete and honest answer. I make sure any time I ask an Autistic person this that I have the time and space for them to give just that.

How do you answer when someone asks how you are?

14/10/2026

Great post from Chris Bonnello - Autistic Not Weird - a good overview of what the review actually said as opposed to the misleading headlines.

Neurodivergent people deserve so much better than shoddy reporting. We should be able to open newspapers, turn on the telly, and check news apps without click bait headlines which don’t reflect the reality of the news story.

Media plays a huge role in how wider society views us. This is an enormous responsibility and many, many news outlets are failing us, they must do better. ND people thriving should be the goal, but continually portraying us in this way is a huge barrier to that.

We already have to jump through massive hoops to access assessment services if they even exist in our areas. And if we do manage to access one, the wait for the assessment process can be incredibly long. When it actually finally starts (and that’s a hallelujah moment by itself a lot of the time!) it dredges up all the times society failed you. When your ND self misunderstood society and was misunderstood by society. It can be so very hard, reliving times you were actively traumatised because you weren’t supported or believed or seen.

They don’t hand out diagnoses like participation medals. You have to be able to show evidence it’s warranted.

And we are still under identified. I regularly hear about professional who still hold wildly outdated beliefs that should have been binned decades ago.

You can be Autistic and:

Love sensory input
Really sociable and outgoing
In a relationship
A parent
Highly successful
Able to drive
Otherwise disabled

And any other thing that any human being can be!

We still have a long way to go to be at a stage where we consistently have access to timely assessments. We should be given info on our rights and how to advocate for them (you can access this ok our website’s Knowledge Centre!). We should be supported to find community and kinship. Not subjected to bad reporting.

Last week, the UK government’s report into neurodivergence in young people came out, and made the following points:

1) Children diagnosed with autism/ADHD are around four times more likely to end up not in education, employment or training between 16 and 24.
2) Therefore, there needs to be better support post-diagnosis for neurodivergent children.
3) There has been a huge rise in young people with mental health difficulties.
4) Young people are not actually snowflakes; they legitimately face challenges not faces by previous generations.
5) People diagnosed with autism/ADHD/mental health difficulties run the risk of being defined by their weaknesses.
6) There is a risk of some professionals misdiagnosing mental health difficulties as being autism/ADHD.
7) Due to huge waiting lists for diagnoses, those with higher support needs should be prioritised.
8 ) There are some age groups where these neurological conditions are still being under-diagnosed.

Note that it did NOT say that autism and ADHD were overdiagnosed. Even the report lead said that Wes Streeting (the then-health secretary who commissioned the report) was “completely wrong” to suggest it.

So why is the media saying this as the main headline (hoping you wouldn’t read any further)?
Because **they want you to believe in overdiagnosis**.

The anti-neurodiversity rhetoric we’ve been seeing in recent years has been pushed by both government figures and the right-wing press in order to trick the public into thinking we’re just “normal people who are just benefit scroungers” - with the ultimate goal of minimising the public backlash once benefits start being cut and when SEND kids have their legal protections removed.

(For those skim-reading, that last paragraph is the one you want to read again.)

So if you’re one of the people who’s been tricked into thinking “oh, everyone’s got ADHD these days” or “these autistic people are only in it for the benefit money”, then ask yourself who is benefitting from you being led into believing that.

**They want you to be passive when the time comes for disabled people to suffer in order to save government money.**

Perhaps the most disgusting part of this is how the media missed the opportunity to talk about the rise in mental health difficulties among young people. They could have made THAT the talking point and generated a discussion that sparked real change.
But they didn’t, and now that vastly important part of the report is a barely-discussed footnote. Replaced by a headline that’s designed to make you feel angry and us be taken less seriously.

In being made to believe neurodivergence is overdiagnosed, and therefore these people’s needs don’t actually exist (which is a bit of a nonsensical argument when you think about it- needs exist whether a diagnosis is appropriate or not), you’re being asked to look the other way when people suffer.

This is by design. Don’t fall for it.

-Chris

[Black text on white background, reading:
For those who need to hear this:
The government report DID NOT say that autism and ADHD are being overdiagnosed.
The media is pushing its own agenda in the face of the actual facts.]