Guest posts

(Ode to Lee Anderson)

• guest poem by Patrick Murphy

When I said I hated men dressed in pink

And that women should be tied to the kitchen sink

I wasn’t being a prat, a bigot or fink

I was simply saying what most people think

Mental health sufferers belong in the clink

That’s what our forefathers, bless them, would think

Language Studies student Fiona Wilson wrote this analysis of Janine's poem 'p.p.e.' for her degree, scoring a distinction.

Introduction

A guest poem from Spoaken Word Lewes regular open mic'er Fred The Ninja. Thanks Fred.

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I owe my very existence to Russian fucking tanks.

If my dad had not run from them 66 years ago in Hungary, he never would have come here, never would have met my mum.

Even though I never faced them myself the bloody trail of their tracks is imprinted on my life.

• 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? 

A personal reflection from my dad, prompted by the last line of my poem, Bristol's Brilliant Bus Boycott (1963).

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 spoke with my dad (pictured) about his memories of the 1945 general election ...

75 years ago when I was seven, I experienced the first of 22 general elections in my life.

There is an increasing number of companies which explicitly employ autistic people, promising to value their work and provide suitable working conditions. This has been widely welcomed.

But what are the experiences of autistic workers in these companies? 

On this website, I will be hosting guest posts to give a platform to these workers and allow people to see behind the headlines.

The first is from V, in Paris.

by PCS rep, Helen Sheridan

Never give a trade unionist a platform if you want to get away on time. I hope you're all sitting comfortably. For anyone who cares about these things, my name is Helen Sheridan and I am a trade union representative with the Public and Commercial Services Union. I have served on the Executive Committee for my branch for almost ten years, as well as on various sub-committees within the branch. I'm also Autistic.

As you've probably noticed, awareness of neurodiversity has increased dramatically over the past few years, with high profile campaigns from groups like the National Autistic Society, increased representation in film and television, such as The A Word, and the rise of social media giving a platform to Autistic people themselves. Self Advocacy groups have gained more control over the conversation being had about Autism and are steering it to the areas that matter to Autistic people.

The first of what I hope will be a regular feature, this guest post is from Veronica.

I just wanted to say how very much I am enjoying your blog.

I was diagnosed with grade 3 invasive ductal cancer in my left breast on 13 October so your story and experience are similar to mine - although I have just completed four cycles of pre-surgery chemotherapy which has been every bit as vile and debilitating as I feared. I am typing this from bed fully eight days after the last treatment and very annoyed not to be able to muster the energy for a gig tonight for which we bought tickets ages ago.

You don’t notice a lump growing in a big breast, do you, until it’s a real problem? I had the sentinel lymph node biopsy op on 4 November though and fortunately that was clear so I feel I have dodged a very big bullet.