Start date 7 November 2024
Small and perfectly formed – there were just 6 of you lovely people at our first Neurodiversity Champions course on 7 November.
And it was absolutely brilliant!
I’m sure that’s because it involved triangles (of the dramatic variety) with the odd cocktail thrown in… visuals like these are so important to increase understanding and get people thinking creatively. And they are pretty to look at.
Champion training involves visual thinking and metaphors to explain the facts around cocktails and triangles.
To model best training practice, we’d already shared some pre-session content. This was mainly through a nice inclusive yellow Padlet page for the Champion learning; videos galore, as well as resources and templates to help reduce the information load that candidates had to process on the day.
Our ice breaker riffed on the theme of hidden strengths, and we uncovered some fascinating ones: a female powerlifter, visual/creative thinkers/problem-solvers, a singer…
Our hidden strengths deserve to come out into the sun now and again!
It was a great way to demonstrate how we never know people’s strengths… unless we give them chance to show them.
As we got to know the delegates, we were really struck by how delegates were seeking this training so that they could wear two hats… or even 3!
You see, one was looking to run a neurodiversity network and wanted to find ways to increase engagement. He was hoping that being Champion trained and accredited would help him boost the numbers.
Others were already MH First Aiders and felt that this training was the natural adjunct to the work.
When Daniel and I had designed the course, we had anticipated that the champions would most likely be neurodivergent individuals or HR professionals. While there were delegates who fitted both categories, there were seasoned First Aiders. The boundary holding challenge we’d imagined would be a HUGE problem didn’t seem to be that hard for them, really.
All in all, it was an action-packed day with group discussions, pair activities and making an action plan for what lies ahead in progressing their Neurodiversity Champion-ship work.
We can’t wait to hear how they are getting on when they book in for their mentoring sessions with us.
Join our Champions’ training waiting list to secure your place in the next cohort and be the key to neuro-inclusion for your neurodivergent colleagues so they can Thrive in ’25. We are looking forward to working with you.
Emma A
