National Neurodiversity Youth Council

Posted Wed 24th May 2023 at 09:16
by Zach Clarke and Lauren Wyatt

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A journey with TA Ambassadors, Zach and Lauren

Wow…where do we start?!

Imagine our surprise when we were asked to be ambassadors on the first ever National Neurodiversity Youth Council!  Of course, we jumped at the opportunity to support and advocate for neurodiversity. So along with other young people from the ADHD Foundation, Dyslexia Scotland, the Dyspraxia Foundation, Autistica and Dyscalculia Network, a forum was created. 

You might ask…why do we need a National Neurodiversity Youth Council? 

Well, we’re sure you will agree that children and young people who are neurodiverse need a voice on matters that affect us - we need to be heard. We also need educational and support resources to enable us to overcome health challenges, educational underachievement, and barriers to employment. We need to create partnerships and work closely with other neurodiverse charities, so we are always at the front of actions and decisions. And of course, we want to influence current policy and practice, so we will be meeting with ministers and the government to emphasise the importance of hearing the voice and opinions of young people who are neurodiverse. And who better to do that than those with lived experience. 

To sum all of that into one sentence… We want young neurodiverse people to help create a better future for young neurodiverse people. 

So, what have we done so far?

We’ve had regular monthly meetings online and we had our first face to face meet up in Liverpool. What a blast that was! Everyone with one common goal - working together to create a better future. We ate, went bowling, ate, conquered an escape room (some of us nearly didn’t survive!), we slept, ate again, shared personal experiences and worked on an action plan and you’ve guessed it, we ate again!!! Big shout out to the ADHD Foundation for hosting and arranging this trip ????

So, what happens next?

The project is now officially launched, and a logo created (shout out to Lauren for her creative work on this). We plan to visit government ministers and OFSTED to advocate for other neurodiverse young people. We will be creating resources to support access to public services, educational achievement, and employability, as well as contributing to awareness campaigns and supporting education providers and employers to enable the inclusion of neurodiverse young people. Oh, and did we mention a trip to Auschwitz…no, we’re not jetting off on holiday, it’s an opportunity to learn more about segregation and discrimination.

Watch this space for further updates!

Zach and Lauren

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