Welcome to Inclusion Bites, your sanctuary for bold conversations that spark change. I'm Joanne Lockwood, your guide on this journey of exploration into the heart of inclusion, belonging, and societal transformation. Ever wondered what it truly takes to create a world where everyone not only belongs but thrives? You're not alone. Join me as we uncover the unseen, challenge the status quo, and share stories that resonate deep within. Ready to dive in? Whether you're sipping your morning coffee or winding down after a long day, let's connect, reflect, and inspire action together. Don't forget you can be part of the conversation too. Reach out to jo.Lockwood@seechangehappen.co.uk to share your insights or to join me on the show. So adjust your earbuds and settle in.

It's time to ignite the spark of inclusion with Inclusion Bites. And today, it's episode 121 with the title, Embracing Neurodiversity and Queer Identity. And I have the absolute honor and privilege to welcome Helen Davis. Helen supports neurodivergent in adults and the organizations they are in. When I asked Helen to describe her superpower, she said, she has both a superpower and some Kryptonite. And she thinks that having ADHD has helped her live more than one life. Hello, Helen. Welcome to the show.

Hi, Jo. Really fantastic to be here. Thank you.

Yeah. Brilliant. We've had a bit of trouble in the green room. We've been all over the place. We're into Zencast and out of Zencast and back into Zoom. So these never go smoothly. But welcome them. I'm glad we finally can see and hear each other, which is amazing.

So, Helen, embracing neurodiversity and queer identities, Tell me a bit more about what you do and how we can do that.

Yeah. I mean, yeah, in terms of that specific point, I've noticed that there's a very, very high prevalence of neurodiversity within our queer communities. I'm not saying you have to be queer to be neurodiverse, but there tends to be a lot of people in neurodiverse who are queer. And so I think that that that therefore, as well as all the colors of a rainbow and the various identities that we have, that is very much part of the intersection that we also have and share. And practical wisdom supports neurodivergent adults, as you said, and in in all their glorious diversity, including about sex and gender as well and sexual orientation. So I myself are gender fluid, and I think it's really important for our queer community to know that there are safe spaces to go where they can, you know, disclose about their neurodiversity and actually get some help if that's what they need.

You mentioned, yeah, the the intersection of neurodiversity, ADHD, ASD, and Yeah. Queerness is is quite prevalent, you might say. Yeah. But I and I don't wanna dive too much into talk about the CAS report because that's Oh. That's been said a lot. But that that seems to conflate the issue as being, if you have neurodiversity, then you're not genuinely gender dysphoric or or trans. But you're saying there's a there's you could be both, and it's not a problem.

You can easily be both. And I you know? And I'm part of the trans community, so I can very much consider both. And one didn't cause the other. I happen to be both. Yeah. I have. Yeah. There's a rabbit hole, isn't it? That whole cast report.

I I think my concern is having had been lived in under section 28 when I first came out, And I remember the repression. I remember you didn't know if you say, if you were queer, that you, you know, if you get lose your job, you, you weren't certainly wouldn't mention it at school. You'd, you know, you'd get your head kicked in at certain places. You know, you have Jo really watch yourself. And I had thought we'd moved on decades, but it feels like literally that's reversing. And I guess I am very concerned for our trans young people who are having this level, I think, of institutional prejudice and transphobia, quite frankly.