Millions of pounds a month are lost by UK shops and businesses because they are not accessible to people with disabilities, according to an awareness campaign. Purple Tuesday, which says a "mindset change" is needed, is urging retailers to consider new ways of improving inclusion such as adapting sensory experiences for neurodivergent people. Some 16 million people in the UK have a disability, and 90% of disabled people found their shopping experience was affected by a lack of accessibility, according to the Business Disability Forum.
we noticed we'd buy a bunch of groceries, only for them to sit in our fridge and spoil (but not because we didn't want to eat them - we just literally forgot they were there). You see, we're both neurodivergent and tend to struggle with object permanence. Essentially, if something is out of sight, it's out of mind. So we started printing out a physical menu and hanging it in our kitchen - as if we were dining at our very own private restaurant each week.
Generative Artificial Intelligence (Gen AI) tools such as ChatGPT, Copilot, Gemini, and Khanmigo are rapidly proliferating and becoming integrated into nearly every aspect of life, including education. Although critics argue that these tools may replace traditional education, when used appropriately, they can complement teachers by serving as powerful educational partners. The diversity among learners often necessitates levels of support that a teacher alone cannot provide, underscoring the potential role of Gen AI in offering such assistance.
It was commissioned by the Artistic Director of Nottingham Playhouse, Adam Penford, after Penford heard the story of how, in 2011 in Nottingham, a teenager (Dunne) threw a punch that resulted in the unintended death of a young man, James Hodgkinson. Punch is dedicated to James, and all victims of one-punch, a term for legal cases where a single punch has unforeseen fatal consequences and the perpetrator is convicted of manslaughter.
Over the past few years, the topic of neurodiversity in workplaces has shifted from a niche topic to a mainstream, ballooning conversation. More people than ever are seeking and receiving diagnoses as neurodivergent. Social media has opened up spaces where individuals confidently share their lived experiences, providing the examples and guidance previous generations never enjoyed. Today, younger generations in particular are growing up with a language for difference that simply did not exist at scale before.
I recently met Billy, a 12-year-old boy with severe autism. He had been growing well but, at around age 3, he became increasingly delayed in speaking and walking. As he got older, he would frequently scream inconsolably when upset. and have temper tantrums and meltdowns, spilling and throwing food all around him, and difficulty understanding spoken language or learning. Eventually, testing showed that he had an IQ of 70-in the category of intellectual disability.
The trailer for the new series of Educating Yorkshire is a work of art. Shot in one take and clocking in at more than three minutes, it was written and performed by the children of Thornhill community academy in Dewsbury in collaboration with Dougal Wilson, the director of Paddington in Peru and takes in a school band, percussionist dinner ladies and a child seemingly being fired out of a cannon from the roof.
The damage caused by "outside school" isn't something that they can simply push through and overcome. This is when homeschooling-and in particular unschooling-can come in. What Is Unschooling? As Brooklyn-based writer and educator Ruben Brosbe writes in U.S. News & World Report, unschooling is "an educational philosophy that relies on a child's innate curiosity and desires to learn. In families that practice unschooling, students do not attend school and do not follow any set homeschool curriculum.''
"We need to think beyond ADA requirements. It's not a particular look - it's making sure you're designing so that everyone feels comfortable, and everyone can feel like their needs are supported and that they have a sense of belonging in that space."
