Steph Curtis

Pile of presents with title text 30 unique gift ideas for children and teens who are hard to buy for

Anyone looking for some last minute ideas for gifts for children who are hard to buy for? Here’s some of my suggestions! www.stephstwogirls.co.uk/2025/12/30-u...

I’m running a little Christmas Countdown - books published on the topic of PDA. For the full list (yes there’s more than 24!) see my blog post: www.stephstwogirls.co.uk/2025/11/book...

Fab post, as always!

Image shows a screenshot of Rachel Reeves and Kier Starmer in the Commons in black and white

NEW POST: After the excitement of hitting 100K signatures, today we examine Spending Review education cash. It was revealed SEND plans will now come in a wider Schools White Paper this autumn. @tanialt.bsky.social and @captaink77.bsky.social share some thoughts www.specialneedsjungle.com/p...

education committee superimposed over piles of paper

NEW POST: What are powerful council lobbying voices telling the Education Committee they really really want? @captaink77.bsky.social has been combing through the SEND Inquiry evidence and finds some eye-rolling submissions www.specialneedsjungle.com/p...

Dr Ross Geeene is fab. His website is www.livesinthebalance.org

If you think about potential warning signs that a system isn't meeting needs, an increase in exclusions and a decrease in attendance would be two obvious ones to look for. The DfE is not going to be able to increase #inclusion simply by Ofsted-ing it. They have to look at the wider system. #EduSky

Yep, feeling this right now…

The difference between Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA) and Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD) Examples of the difference between Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA), an autism spectrum condition, and Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD)

I wrote a post about PDA vs ODD a while back… would be interested to hear your thoughts on it! www.stephstwogirls.co.uk/2016/05/the-...

Grounding with Mabel: Lessons from a Grumpy Little Dog Grounding is one of those concepts that sounds straightforward—until you try to actually do it.

I wrote about my absurdly grumpy little dog’s goofy but powerful role in helping me manage my pathological demand avoidance for my Substack.

Promoting Our Projects, Events, and Values BEYOND Social Media A guiding question for artists, activists, and community-builders: If social media did not exist, how would you share your art, promote your work, and/or communicate your values?

How might we promote our projects, events, campaigns, art, values, etc *beyond* social media?

There's no one magic key, but some friends and I did some brainstorming and skill-sharing. Hope it can useful to artists, musicians, organizers, small business owners, and beyond:

Loved this, thanks for sharing!

I just can’t do audiobooks at all! My mind wanders after the first few pages 😄

Holocaust Memorial Day Trust Holocaust Memorial Day (HMD) on 27 January is the day to remember the millions of people murdered in the Holocaust, under Nazi Persecution and in the genocides in Cambodia, Rwanda, Bosnia, and Darfur....

hmd.org.uk
We like to say, "Never forget". But too many people forgot, or never knew, or have been lied to.
For the millions who died because they were born different to those in power.
So important to never, ever do this again, to anyone, ever.

Any chance you’d consider ours?! 🙂 I appreciate not everyone wants non-fiction though!

ARFID is Not ‘Fussy Eating’: The Truth About Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder — Authentically Emily Sky News published an article yesterday titled ‘ARFID: The little-known eating disorder that is on the rise’ and the responses on social media highlight the extent of stigma and misunderstanding sur...

ARFID is Not ‘Fussy Eating’: The Truth About Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder.

www.authenticallyemily.uk/blog/arfid-i...

I loved this article, I also learnt something from it!

Love this graphic!

For a long long time I had it drilled into me that I was lazy and unmotivated. I used to put so many expectations on myself that it just made me panic. Now I have recognised that being Autistic can come with PDA, I’m not so hard on myself for not doing something. As long as it gets done we’re golden

Fifteen Years of Blogging. What next? An anniversary post, thoughts on blogging for a long time and being an author

Fifteen years ago I started a blog, on the day our younger daughter was diagnosed with autism. That means I’ve been sharing our story and talking about PDA on social media for over 14 years. Is it time to stop? 🤔 Read more here www.stephstwogirls.co.uk/2025/01/fift...

SNJ in Conversation with Edward Timpson CBE KC “You’ve got to really care about families and their lives …” - Special Needs Jungle Former SEND Minister, Edward Timpson discusses the challenges of passing the Children & Families Act 2014 and why coproduction really matters

What does the man who led the Children & Families Act into law think about what went right and wrong? Check out our recent video podcast with former SEND Minister Edward Timpson CBE KC. It's one the DfE should watch now to avoid making the same mistakes
www.specialneedsjungle.com/s...

Diversity is the key to our survival: The Shoeness of a Shoe When her daughter Ella was seven years old, she lost her eyes, and it meant Elly had to look again at everything. Ella taught her to #flipthenarrative around how we 'see' people like Ella. That every ...

Morning #BlueSky. Ella and I would be really grateful if you might take a moment to watch and share our #TEDx talk.

'It does not matter what package you arrived in. Everyone needs a seat at the table'

Please help us #FlipTheNarrative for all of our fellow humans 💜🙏

www.ted.com/talks/elly_c...

Ooohh tick, tick ✅ can’t wait to see this soon! 🤩

Love it when I learn something new first thing in the morning…. Have you heard about the Door to Hell?!

La la la la la la la (fingers in my ears, all good 😉)

Sticking my fingers in my ears and going ‘la-la-la-la’ 😱

Remarkable choice of research lead. Many genuinely independent & capable research outfits are well-equipped to do this work…

But it'll be an outfit whose last report said that SEND poses an "existential threat" to local government, & who already work on Safety Valve for local government

states.

http://www.lukeclements.co.uk/institutionalising-parent-carer-blame/

A Greek Tragedy Musical: SEND Reform —– Act 1 —– Opening Scene Scene 1 Parents get activisty In comes Warnock, commissioned to champion parents by taking over their voice <subdued cheers> Warnock conclude…

Hey, can any of you sing and fancy a part in my musical? @jarlathobrien.bsky.social @karenwespieser.bsky.social @alisonpeacock.bsky.social @alicewoolley.bsky.social @samfr.bsky.social @greeborunner.bsky.social @phoenixedsarah.bsky.social starlightmckenzie.wordpress.com/2025/01/13/a...