This honest, to-the-point guide illuminates the experience of young Autistic girls and explores the situations they can easily fall victim to. Powerful case studies show how easily misunderstandings can arise for Autistic girls and help the reader to identify common patterns of abuse. Providing professionals with access to safeguarding strategies that are straightforward to implement and highly effective, this is essential reading for everyone who wants to better understand the challenges faced by this vulnerable group, and ensure they have access to the same opportunities to secure a good education and build safe and happy relationships as their peers.

Autistic girls, especially those educated in mainstream environments, have often been missed or misdiagnosed. There is now, however, greater awareness of how autism can present in females, why these girls can remain ‘invisible’, and what education and health professionals can do to provide better support. Fully revised and updated, this practical book shines a light on the insights, opinions and experiences of autistic girls and women, providing a rich insight into school life from an autistic perspective. It explores the difficulties and disadvantages that autistic girls can face in educational settings and offers guidance on how to best support them, with a wealth of strategies reflecting good practice in the field of autism and education. The resource also contains a broad range of worksheets and activities on key issues and includes new sections on anxiety, masking, home life, social media, gender and sexual identity. Key features include: A wealth of case studies to illustrate different topics Guidance on best practice when working with autistic girls New audits to help staff and pupils to identify strengths and areas to improve Easy-to-implement strategies and tips to help professionals adapt to environments and policies for autistic students Activities and resources for young autistic females to support them in developing self-awareness, coping strategies and learning skills With the voices of autistic girls and young women woven throughout, drawing upon their experiences of education – from learning and communication, to friendships, transitions and interpreting the world – this is an essential resource for education and health professionals working with autistic girls, particularly in mainstream environments.

'This book will change lives! A cracking read and a must for folks with brains who do things differently' Heidi Mavir, author of Your Child is Not Broken 'I loved it. I'm so impressed by Ellie's courage and wisdom, this book is comforting and clever, but most of all kind' Daisy Buchanan, author of Insatiable and Careering ***** Whether you are neurodivergent, suspect you might be, or want to be a better ally, UNMASKED will help you make sense of it all, and put the power in your hands. Ellie was 24 when she learned she wasn't broken. She wasn't a bad person, she was neurodivergent. Her late diagnosis of ADHD and autism was like a lightbulb being switched on and she could finally start to heal from the trauma of being un-diagnosed and mis-understood for so long. Since getting her diagnosis, Ellie has made it her mission to change the way we think about autism, ADHD and neurodivergence and in UNMASKED she shares what she has learned along her journey. Written in a bite-sized style for whizzy brains like hers, Ellie shares chapters on mental health, pretty privilege, how to navigate the workplace and the importance of self-diagnosis so that we can all better understand and celebrate neurodivergence, and ultimately make the world a more inclusive place.

Understanding Autistic Relationship Across the Lifespan is an accessible overview of autistic relationships from the early years through to old age. This much-needed book combines the latest research findings with first-hand accounts to offer insight into the relationships of autistic people and how they differ to those of non-autistic people in a range of ways. Felicity Sedgewick and Sarah Douglas delve into life's stages and their challenges, revealing how navigating relationships can lead to misunderstandings, rejection, and trauma – but also to genuine connection, support, and joy. Illustrated throughout with extracts from interviews, and with extended narratives from Sarah, it explores key topics including relationships in the early years, childhood friendships, teenage friendships and romance, adult romantic and sexual relationships, LGBTQ+ relationships, finding community, family relationships, and issues in the later stages of life. The authors explore a wide range of emotions and life situations, examining the social world of autistic people and the strategies they use to navigate it. Understanding Autistic Relationship Across the Lifespan offers practical recommendations for both autistic and non-autistic people on how to have the healthiest and most satisfying relationships possible. It is essential reading for all those working with autistic people and studying autism, as well as autistic individuals and those close to them.

Autistic girls can be frequently misunderstood, underestimated and therefore anxious in a school environment. This practical book offers an innovative life skills curriculum for autistic girls aged 11 to 15, based on the author's successful workshops and training, which show how to support girls' wellbeing and boost their self-esteem. Including an adapted PSHE curriculum, this is a straightforward guide to educating autistic children on the issues that matter most to them. It covers all essential areas of wellbeing, including communication, identity, self-regulation and triggers, safety, and physical and mental health, and offers the reader strategies to help the autistic girls in their lives enhance and develop these.

What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you think of autism? Often, it's a boy who struggles with friendships, but who loves trains and is great at maths. While this may reflect the experiences of some autistic people, in recent years research and first-hand accounts have shown that many others don't conform to this image. The historical perception of autism as a "male condition" as well as simplistic stereotypes have led to an under-identification of autism in some girls and women - and, indeed, in all people, regardless of gender, who do not fit this mould. This straightforward, one-stop guide introduces you to the differing presentations of autism that are common in girls, but also explores why referring to 'male' and 'female' autism is too reductive. Describing why some autistic girls' needs are identified late or not at all, looking at friendships and relationships, education, mental health and puberty, this concise, easy-to-understand and informative book draws on both lived experience and research to offer a popular science overview of this important topic.

Safeguarding Adults and the Law, now in its third edition, sets this complex area of work within an extensive legal framework and provides many useful pointers for practitioners and students. It is now in an A-Z format, enabling quick reference to a wide range of civil and criminal law, and to legal case law. The book covers safeguarding duties under the Care Act 2014 and in particular the making of enquiries by local authorities, safeguarding adults boards, Department of Health guidance, human rights, regulation of health and social care providers, barring of carers from working with vulnerable adults, criminal records certificates, mental capacity, the High Court's inherent jurisdiction, undue influence, assault, battery, wilful neglect, ill treatment, self-neglect, manslaughter, murder, theft, fraud, sexual offences, modern slavery, domestic violence legislation, data protection and the sharing of information. The book focuses on how these areas of law, each with its own set of rules, apply to the practice of safeguarding adults. It contains numerous legal case summaries to bring the law to life. Fully updated, it reflects significant changes to civil and criminal law over the last five years. A critical introduction analyses serious challenges and issues inherent in the current culture of health and social care, and the implications for adult safeguarding. This book will be an essential resource for all those working in social care, health care and the police, as well as the many other agencies involved in safeguarding.

The latest feel-good book packed with practical tips from the author of the smash-hit book on ADHD, autism and neurodivergence, UNMASKED. Ellie Middleton is back with a new, practical book to help you work WITH your neurodivergent brain rather than AGAINST it. In each chapter, she writes about the eight executive functions that neurodivergent people struggle with including working memory, prioritisation and emotional regulation and shares 5 simple tips for readers to try out, including: - Creating a launch pad to remember the essentials when you leave the house - Drawing a car park of ideas to help visualise your thoughts and manage impulse control - The 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 mindfulness technique to prevent spiralling and regulate emotions - Breaking up each day into Four Quadrants to approach every day with more flexibility This isn’t another journal or planner that claims to organize your entire life because Ellie is the first to admit that she doesn’t have things under control 100% of the time. This also is not a book about how to fit into the neurotypical way of doing things (aka masking). Instead, Ellie reveals why society tells us that we ‘should’ do things (read: patriarchy, ableism, White supremacy) and shows us how we can all free ourselves of those expectations, feel empowered and, ultimately, be more YOU.

'I realised I had been camouflaging my whole life - I'd been trying to mask my autistic traits and fit in with all the non-autistic people around me.' Growing up autistic can often feel as though you have to become a chameleon in social situations, camouflaging yourself to fit in with a seemingly neurotypical world. Combining lived experience with scientific research and practical advice, this book is the essential guide to understanding why you mask and how to feel confident without one. Focusing on diagnostic devices like the Camouflaging Autistic Traits Questionnaire (CAT-Q) to discover the situations in which you mask the most and why, alongside a range of techniques, from CBT, compassion based therapy, DBT, and mindfulness to relieve anxiety and reduce stress, this guide gives you all the tools and confidence you need to re-connect with yourself, the things you love and finally, take off your mask.

This book provides an overview of the challenges primary health care professionals now face in recognising and responding to concerns about a child's safety from abuse and neglect. It provides practical accounts and perspectives from a range of frontline practitioners, backed up by theoretical insights from leading academics in the field.