Joanna joined Scottish Autism 14 years ago as an Autism Practitioner. When she started, she worked closely with autistic people who accessed support in their services across Scotland. Over time, Joanna has led in a range of services for autistic people, collaborating with practitioners – from those working in housing support to residential and day services – as well as with autistic individuals and their families. With this foundation, Joanna’s work is deeply rooted in the lived experience of autistic people, consistently focusing on listening to, recognising, and amplifying autistic voices. 

With a wealth of knowledge and experience behind her, there’s no one better to help understand what Neurodiversity Training is and why it’s so important than Joanna. So, let’s jump right in.  

What does Neurodiversity mean? 

Neurodiversity is a word that’s becoming more and more common in our everyday language. Often, people look for neurodiversity training because they want to better support their workforce or people that they work alongside. 

However, neurodiversity is a very broad term. In essence, it describes all our brains. It reflects the fact that it’s natural for humans to have diverse brains; diverse ways of thinking; and diverse ways of doing things.  

Just as the natural world is rich with biodiversity with an incredible variety of plants and animals, our minds reflect a similar kind of richness. Neurodiversity describes the vast range of ways people think, learn, and process the world around them. Therefore, it’s an inclusive term that embraces all of us, including those with neurodevelopmental differences like autism and ADHD. 

When we talk about neurodiversity training, what we really  is creating spaces that are more inclusive of neurodivergence. Neurodivergent can be used to describe those that identify as having a neurodevelopmental difference, whereas neurotypical is used to describe those who identify as following a more typical developmental profile.

Why choose Elevate? 

Scottish Autism is one of the largest specialist providers of support to autistic people in Scotland. With over 60 years of experience and knowledge, we’ve built a tried and tested learning support package that can really make a difference. 

Elevate connects people with up-to-date, research-informed understanding of autism. Take concepts like monotropism and the double empathy problem – both developed by autistic researchers. These are just some of the theories our dedicated Centre for Practice, Policy and Research continues to explore and learn from. 

Our Training and Consultancy team collaborates with the Centre and a team of advisors to shape learning with real-world insight. We combine cutting-edge research with lived experience to create training that’s grounded in evidence, empathy, and expertise, making it truly impactful.

Who does Elevate work with? 

Everyone! We want to help as many people as we can create spaces that truly include and support autistic people; whether that’s in a professional setting or in the wider community. 

Our courses are all about you. Wherever you’re starting from, we’ll meet you there and help you get to where you want to be. At the end of the day, it’s about supporting the autistic community in a way that’s positive, respectful, and neuro-affirming. Ultimately, we want to help shift how society sees and treats autistic people for the better. 

Over the years, Scottish Autism has spent a lot of time learning, listening, and having meaningful conversations with the autistic community, practitioners, and researchers. All of this has helped shape an offering that we genuinely believe can make a real difference in driving positive change for autistic people.