Pride Is
Pride is this:
the counter-march to prejudice
There’s a reason it was named:
Pride is refusal to feel ashamed.
Issues and campaigns: Autism
Autistic people face discrimination and prejudice in a society which expects us to understand and fit in with social rules that are not of our making.
Guest poem: FFS
A guest poem by Josey Robinson
Is a neurodivergent worker considered disabled under UK law?
The law judges this on a case-by-case basis. The 2010 Equality Act states that an individual is disabled under the law if they have a physical or mental impairment that has a substantial, long-term, adverse effect on their ability to … Read more
Neurodiversity: a core bargaining issue
There is an excellent article in November 2022’s Labour Research – ‘Neurodiversity: a core bargaining issue’. I’m pleased to say that I am extensively quoted! If you would like to read the full text, ask your trade union if it … Read more
A Question of Importance
Invited to an event to answer a question of importance, I walked along the street with highness, went in through the door that revolves, past the guard of security, and spoke to the person with femaleness and helpfulness at the … Read more
Is There Power In a Union for Autistic Workers?
An assessment of trade unions as drivers of positive change for autistic people at work, written as an assignment for Postgraduate Certificate in Autism and Asperger Syndrome [Note: this is not advocating a union for autistic workers, but assessing the potential … Read more
Why Does Work Not Work for Autistic People?
Assignment written for the Postgraduate Certificate in Autism and Asperger Syndrome, Sheffield Hallam University. WHY DOES WORK NOT WORK FOR US? How and why is employment hostile to autistic people? How useful are the main autism theories in explaining … Read more
Practical Humanistic Models for Supporting Autistic People in Distress: time for a paradigm shift?
a guest post by Ian Hutchinson, autistic clinician – NHS children’s services, Cornwall Thinking about practical humanistic models for supporting autistic people in distress, time for a paradigm shift? Over recent years and in service provision ranging from education and … Read more
Dinah Murray 1946-2021
A nature lover, mushroom finder, activist and fighter against oppression, for our future, thinker, speaker, writer Always radical, always left, sometime Green and Labour, A friend, a comrade, partner, mum, a new-found Scottish neighbour An organiser, platform builder, amplifier of … Read more
RMT Members Help Win Justice for Osime
Published in RMT News, July/August 2021 RMT members have helped to win justice for Osime Brown, a young, black, autistic, learning-disabled man. The union saw this as an issue that deserved our support and solidarity. Janine Booth, Secretary of RMT’s Disabled Members’ … Read more
Dinah Murray RIP
This is the obituary of Dinah that I wrote for Solidarity Workers’ Liberty is saddened to learn of the death of Dr Dinah Murray. Dinah spoke alongside me at two of our Ideas for Freedom summer schools and at an … Read more
The Reason I Fight
Janine Booth reviews ‘The Reason I Jump’ I don’t watch many documentaries about autism, and on the rare occasion when I sit down to watch one, I am overwhelmed with a sense of dread. So much rubbish is said on … Read more
I’m Autistic: It’s an Adjective not an Accessory
(and why I prefer to think of it like this rather than as IFL vs PFL) There are many good articles explaining why most autistic people prefer to be referred to as ‘autistic people’ rather than ‘people with autism’. The … Read more
Ten Barriers Autistic Workers Face and How to Overcome Them
First published as a blog post for the TUC’s ‘Stronger Unions’ on 23 November 2016: Most autistic people want to work, but often encounter difficulties in the workplace which employers can address better. Author and workplace trade union representative … Read more
Opinionated
You expressed your opinion. In response, I expressed my opinion, which was different from your opinion In response to me expressing an opinion different from your opinion You shouted I’M ENTITLED TO EXPRESS MY OPINION! as though by expressing an … Read more
Video: Labour Party Autism / Neurodiversity Manifesto
Janine explains the need for, and the content of, the Labour Party Autism and Neurodiversity Manifesto.
Video: The Stealth Aspies
The all-autistic theatre company performed this show in Brighton in June 2019. Janine and fellow performers offer insights into autistic experience through poetry and personal testimonies.
Janine’s Neurodiversity training: a student’s view
Thank you to Colette Marquess, a PCS union representative in Belfast, for writing this report after attending the Neurodiversity in the Workplace course run by Janine. To book a course with Janine, click here. I recently attended a 2-day course … Read more
Video: Speaking Up for Osime Brown
Janine addresses the protest in support of Osime Brown outside the Home Office on Friday 4 September – includes the poems Free Osime Brown and Bearing Down. Please sign Osime’s petition here.
Stop this deportation!
Published in Solidarity 562: Dozens of protesters gathered outside the Home Office on Friday 4 September to demand that Osime Brown not be deported to Jamaica. Led by Osime’s family, the protest was supported by Autistic Inclusive Meets (AIM), … Read more