My life and PhD researching autistic people, gender identity, mental health
Today was a wonderful time, for the first warmth in the sun that peeped out from behind the clouds. The angle of the light is gaining height meaning that the days will soon be longer. There is a promise of spring, in the air, in the soil and in the beautiful colours of tiny dandelions…
When I was discharged from my section 3 and subsequently left hospital I described what had happened during those 10 weeks as the start of a journey. I didn’t know what the destination would be. I didn’t realise then how unpredictable and demanding the travel would be too. I describe this post at the theoretical…
Returning to my growing space after three months in hospital was difficult. Much of the work I completed during the three months before my admission had gone to waste. I had not been able to harvest my beans or my squashes and pumpkins. The winter crops I had grown to see me through the hungry…
I listen to a lot of music. It helps me process my emotions, recognise my emotional state in the moment and regulate my sensory system. This latter aspect was highlighted in the sensory profile that was created within my inpatient care plan; that I use music, in surprising ways, within the context of my sensory…
I started blogging in 2009 I think and continued on a different blog for another four years using a wordpress hosted platform. Back then, Facebook had only reached the masses for about eighteen months, maybe two years. Social media was a novelty, an unexploited paradise of consumption and audience participation that promised new and exciting…
I have been thinking about how to start writing on my blog again for a while. Most of 2025 it was unavailable because the hosting company I previously used was taken over and getting my files out was a nightmare. Then I got detained under the mental health act, for about two months between October…
Not too many this month as it has been head down and write to get ready for my PhD year 1 viva. The allotment is looking really lovely at the moment, as is my back garden. The many different colours and shapes in the leaves and plants are really calming to regard when I have…
Hi, my name is Jenn. I’m recruiting for a one-to-one support to work with my son who is a bright energetic eleven year old who is an autistic ADHDer with sensor processing differences. Role details: Term time only (Derby City school holidays), based in our home and around Derby City. Tuesday afternoon 1345 to 1645…
. In the last two weeks, I took delivery of my first ever solo-authored book chapter, in the wonderfully named tinfoil hats: stories by mad people in an insane world. The contribution that I made was hard-won life experience; it talked about some really difficult unpleasant and often traumatising experiences that I had…
This weekend I spent more time outside than I remember having done in years. Highlights included time in the woods with my son at the excellent Tori’s Forest School, down my new permaculture allotment (photos to be added when there are some plants in) and an afternoon at ‘The Land‘ in Little Eaton a beautiful…