Improving Ipswich Schools
Protecting Britain – Increase in Defence Spending
Crime and Anti-Social Behaviour
Asking the Energy Security Minister about fully utilising our natural resources
Visiting Brickmakers Wood
The Mill development update
Keynote address at the Neurodivergence in Education Conference
IPSWICH WANDERERS PRESS RELEASE
Public Meeting at the Rivers Estate
Good public meeting last night with residents from the Rivers estate and surrounding roads. A range of issues raised. Some local. Such as some of the parking issues. However tended to be more national. Concerns about immigration raised the most frequently. Hardly surprising.
Met with J Grange to discuss neurodiversity
I met with J Grange who is a respected public speaker and neurodiversity advocate who goes into Pupil Referral units, schools and colleges such as Kings College London to speak to students, staff and parents. He is fairy local to Ipswich as he is from Chelmsford. He is an ambassador for numerous organisations and charities. He has spoken for the United Nations, live at the Bournemouth International Centre and regularly speaks to a wide range of businesses, charities and corporates. These include, Harvey Nichols, JCDecaux, Johnson Matthey, Metro Bank and News International to talk about creating equality for those 1 in 5 who are neurodivergent. J was also recently a finalist for the prestigious National Diversity Awards 2023 in the ‘Positive Role Model’ category which is a huge achievement.
We met at a recent event I hosted in the Houses of Parliament, the launch of Conservative Friends of Neurodiversity where we got chatting about our lived experiences, mine with dyslexia and dyspraxia and his with dyspraxia and ADHD. We wanted to continue our conversation about how we can make society more inclusive and aware of all types of neurodiversity’s.
We talked about both of our childhood’s and how being neurodiverse impacted our education and how teachers need to be more aware of all types of neurodiversity to better be able to help these children succeed. J was permanently excluded from two schools which were mainstream and did not support him. He then went to a pupil referral unit which he believes helped him turn his life around, receiving the specialised support he needed such as smaller clashes and more time to do work.
We discussed how there is generally a negative connotation to neurodiversity’s such as ADHD having the words ‘deficit’ and ‘disorder’ in. However, neither of us would change being neurodiverse. Neurodiverse people think in different ways, outside the box and see things others don’t. this is a great benefit to society and the workplace also needs to become more inclusive so that we can utilise this talent.
J has had personal experiences with the justice system and ended up in court during his childhood. We talked about how many who end up in the prison system are neurodiverse. As a society we need to support these people. When I was on the Education Select Committee we campaigned for every prison to have a Neurodiversity Support Manager and this was put in place by the Government. We need to ensure everyone gets the support they need to succeed.
J and I discussed him coming to Ipswich to visit local schools and share his lived experiences with students. Also talking with local businesses about how they can be a more neurodiversity inclusive employer. You don’t stop being neurodiverse when you leave school. J also will get involved in my work on neurodiversity, it is great to have a young advocate with so many lived experiences that people can relate to.