Learners’ Café – The Neurodiverse Experience
After the success of our inaugural Learner’s Café earlier this year, the Education SDM Council were pleased to run our second café in November, this time with a focus on supporting neurodiverse students and staff at UHCW.
Teaming up with the Neurodiverse Empowerment Group, as well as Disability Support from Coventry University, the council were on hand to share examples of lived experience of neurodiverse staff balancing work and study and signpost attendees to useful support and resources available to them in the trust.
On the day, there were opportunities for staff to:
- Explore resources and get advice on time management, dealing with anxiety, rejection sensitivity and receiving feedback.
- Get advice and support in asking for reasonable adjustments at work.
- Connect with the UHCW Neurodiverse Empowerment staff network and their new shared decision-making council.
- Discover the range of support services available to you at UHCW, including resources and tailored training sessions from the library.
- Meet with a disability advisor from Coventry University to ask questions about getting additional support while studying.
- Take time out for mindful activities, crafts, and games!
Much like the previous café, we were so grateful to colleagues for sharing their personal stories of balancing work and study as well as the challenges of navigating these worlds from a neurodiverse perspective.
What's Next for the Education SDM Council?
The response to the cafés this year has been positive, and we've received several requests to run more. Your feedback on this would be appreciated: should it travel to different departments? Would smaller drop-ins with a specific theme be useful? If you'd like to share your thoughts, please get in touch with the Education SDM Council Chairs:
Beth Jackson - Beth.Jackson@uhcw.nhs.uk
Liz Wilson - Elizabeth.Wilson@uhcw.nhs.uk