Diana Boyd

I am leaving twitter shortly. Please do follow me on Bluesky @dianacboyd.bsky.social

Dignity. There was ample discussion at the #BBCDebate about work and dignity. Absolutely we must support people to work. But neither leader spoke of the need for dignity for those who can’t work - a clear Labour-Tory dividing line surely. What message does that send?

mencap.org.uk/general-electi… Great to have easy read versions of party manifestos. Equalities and accessibility must be guiding principles for any future government - and it starts here. Interesting to see which parties have produced their’s first. #generalelection4july

❓🤔Can you help strengthen the voice of parent carers & SEND families and improve outcomes for children in #EastSussex? Check out this exciting & flexible opportunity to come & work with us: espcf.org.uk/engagement-wor… #specialeducationalneeds #disabilities #parentcarers #children

@RachelCDailey My son had a very similar experience. I then had to spend 2 hours on the phone to get it reinstated. He’d probably be homeless if he didn’t have me to advocate for him. It is beyond belief that this happens in a so-called civilised country.

@BrightonNewsJo From the Patch, Brighton

@BrightonNewsJo Here’s a few my husband Seb took.

So our very talented student intern Zeeshan who's joining us later this month wants to know where's best to take pictures of the Northern Lights tonight - can anyone help?

Over our house in Brighton. #NorthernLights

@MrDEJones90 @naomicfisher As the parent of a young man with very ‘disruptive behaviours’ at school, I ultimately found that support and compassion got better results than punishment. The trouble is there are too few staff in schools to give time and develop relationships.

@naomicfisher Hi @naomicfisher, I do not read all of your tweets but it seems like all the ones I see on my feed explain why a certain thing isn’t good. Do you have any positive ideas?If you were a teacher, what WOULD you do to settle disruptive behaviours; I can only see thing you wouldn’t do

Sometimes in therapy I talk to adults who tell me how it felt to be the ‘worst behaved’ in the class, and the time that the whole class lost their playtime because of them. How no one would play with them or even talk to them the next day. These aren’t inspirational memories. They don’t say ‘and from that day on, I was a reformed character’. They talk about how they felt shunned by their peers, and how they thought it must be all their fault. They talk about going home and getting shouted at or worse when their parents hear what happened. Here’s the strange thing about children which I’ve learnt as a therapist. Something can appear to work in the short term whilst causing harm in the long term. This is particularly the case when it comes to using shame and anxiety to control behaviour. For what works to create compliance can have long term unintended consequences for some. Like low self esteem and a lack of trust in other people. A sense that you are a loser or worthless. A feeling of hopelessness. A sense of deep shame which is held in the body. They carry these things forwards with them. Children are learning how to think about themselves, how to think about the world. And some children have a much harder time than others. They get punished a lot more than others. They can grow up surrounded in negativity about themselves. There’s a problem, however, because in the short term we don’t see any of it happening. In the short term, it can seem to work fine. We might not even see the distress involved, you can’t see it on children’s faces. ‘They don’t even care’, adults say. It’s only when looking back that people say, those things hurt me. No one wanted that to be the case, but it was.

24 hours left for Amaze's Awesome Art Auction! Here's a reminder of some of the fabulous art donating to us by young people with SEND and professional artists. Thank you everyone - vital funds have been raised for Amaze services ❤️ loom.ly/nQu_WgE

@louise_warren5 @anneliese_ht @Chelleefarnan @GeraldineR16 @SandraDerm @CCNHazelDean Congratulations Louise!

Feeling inspired and in awe of all the nurses here today and so privileged to be presented my award by Professor Dame Elizabeth Anionwu ! @anneliese_ht @Chelleefarnan @GeraldineR16 @SandraDerm @CCNHazelDean

Amazing Futures has been truly transformational for my family - and many others. Here’s a chance to get some wonderful art, alongside supporting young people with additional needs. Get bidding!

Amaze #job: Young People Services Manager: 28 hrs pw, £39,186 - £41,418 p.a. pro-rata...Working out of Amaze's #Brighton & #Eastbourne offices, some homeworking, travel in #EastSussex Full details: loom.ly/zfBvPIg Deadline Mon 4 Dec. #CharityJob #BrightonJob #PartTimeJob

So inspiring! So glad to have heard Dame Christine speak last night - and to have crossed paths with her briefly in my NHSE role. #lenehanlecture

@AvantiWestCoast @NetworkRailEUS Is it possible to get delay repay if booked onto a specific train? My son and father were booked on the 13.53 to Macclesfield. So sorry to hear this has happened. Tragic.

@dwp did you see my tweet? I just got a letter with a 2 week extension. But how long do I need to leave for it to reach someone’s desk? For my other sons application it took 3 weeks so his pip was stopped - despite me sending it in plenty of time.

@DWPgovuk #Disability Received my sons PIP application today, dated 25 May (17 days to get here). It must reach DWP by 25 June (15 days) or his DLA will stop. I now must waste precious hours (when not caring) ringing you to get an extension. So much for #CarersWeek

Well deserved Elm Grove Primary - creating ‘The Pantry’ is such a fantastic achievement instagram.com/p/CtSUjEDIJo0/…

@MsJoBillington @AspieDeLaZouch @CaptainK77 Yes sorry I should have been more explicit. I meant the increase in the after 2009/10.

@dianacboyd @AspieDeLaZouch @CaptainK77 These data refer to the rate of exclusion as a percentage of the specific populations so there are significantly more exclusions of autistic kids than those with and without other forms of SEND

Been looking at the permanent exclusion stats for autistic kids in primary schools this morning. Does anyone know what was happening in 2015/16 that might have contributed to this spike? Paging @AspieDeLaZouch @CaptainK77