Hello, my name is Rebecca and I am passionate about making a difference within the education system and also helping families to lead calmer, happier home lives. I believe in the strength-based approach to neurodivergence and would love to see the word ‘disorder’ removed and changed to ‘difference’.

My background;

I have worked in the field of neurodivergence for the past 25 years. I started my career as an Early Years Teacher and then specialised in teaching autistic children within specialist and mainstream schools for several years across the primary key stages.  I moved onto an advisory role and became team leader for a city-wide autism outreach service, leading a team of autism specialists, providing advice, support and training to Early Years settings, schools and parents. Within this role, I helped secure the bid which brought the Autism Education Trust to Leeds by becoming one of the first hubs in the country to offer the training and as a result it is still going strong today and is making a huge difference. In addition to this I led the team through National Autistic Society accreditations, all of which were successful. I am now an approved NAS accreditor and have the privilege of visiting other schools and outreach services from time to time.

Making a difference…

I am determined to help make a positive change to the education system to ensure that well-being is made a priority. Too many teachers are stressed out and too many children are anxious. It’s time for change.

Changing the thinking around ADHD…

I have been on a personal journey and after seeing differences in my own children led me to look at myself and how I had always felt different my whole life. I received my ADHD diagnosis as an adult which helped explain a lot. ADHD brings wonderful things…creativity, deep empathy for others, an ability to make a real difference.

Let’s stand together and change the thinking around ADHD…from Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder to…

 ADHD

Amazingly
Different
with an ability to
Hyperfocus and might be hyperactive in mind or body or inattentive or both combined!
and at times very easily
Distracted

Oh and not forgetting the lesser well known traits (which wouldn’t fit into this acronym) but are of equal importance as the ones above- differences in regulating emotions, deep empathy/sensitivity, RSD (rejection sensitivity dysphoria), strong sense of justice, over sharing, overwhelm, perfectionism, sensory differences, procrastination, time blindness, impulsivity, differences in executive functioning (ability to be organised, do every-day tasks). As well as this we ADHDer’s often are the ones who think of brilliant out of the box ideas, the entrepreneurs of the world, we speak our minds and can get hyper fixated on things which is when we’re often in our happy, motivated place where creativity comes to life.

By Rebecca Herbert, passionate about changing the wording and stigma around ADHD.

Difference not deficit