Tag: neurodiversity

Huge rise in demand for support with challenges of neurodiversity

Salvesen Mindroom Centre sees 18% surge in enquiries

The soaring need for support with neurodiversity has signalled a huge jump in demand for the services of  Salvesen Mindroom Centre.

The charity, which champions all forms of neurodiversity, has experienced an 18% rise in enquiries over the last year.

Access to education and assessment and diagnosis were key issues raised by parents and carers, along with communication, rights and responsibilities and mental health.

Data shows that children and young people were particularly concerned with challenges including post-diagnosis support, mental health and the transition from leaving school to moving into adulthood.

The latest statistics from the Edinburgh-based charity, which supports children and young people under the age of 25 with all forms of neurodiversity, show that over 1,393 people have been helped in the first three quarters of 2023, an increase of 19% against the entirety of 2022. The most common condition, affecting 82% of clients, was autism.

The enquiries came from within Scotland, predominantly from Edinburgh, Glasgow, and East Lothian, with the vast majority coming directly from potential service users and a third via professionals.

Salvesen Mindroom Centre’s Chief Executive Officer Alan Thornburrow says: “Raising awareness is one of the key goals of Mindroom. Our vision is a world where no mind is left behind. And while we’re delighted to have been able to help so many people this year, the story behind the statistics is one of huge need.

“It’s encouraging that so many more people are now aware of the help and support we can offer but the big rise in demand demonstrates an ever-growing desire among parents, carers, professionals and the young people themselves to help them lead the best life they can. We’re committed to doing everything we can to facilitate that.”

The charity’s latest initiative is a three-year specialist outreach service, financed by a grant from the National Lottery Community Fund, to deliver a dedicated one-to-one support service for children and young people who have neurodevelopmental conditions and neurodiverse families in North and South Lanarkshire.

Alan Thornburrow says: “We saw a rising demand in this area and have responded because we know just what an enormous difference receiving the appropriate help can make.

“The latest rise in figures is a challenge for us but one we are longing to overcome to help people achieve their true potential.”

For more information on the charity’s work go to https://www.mindroom.org/

It Takes All Kinds of Minds: Capital to host global neurodiversity event

With as many as 1 in 5 people thought to be neurodivergent, Scotland will host an international event exploring hard-hitting topics ranging from stigma to sexual taboos associated with neurodivergence and provide a platform for work that showcases the diversity and expertise of neurodivergent people.

The ‘It Takes All Kinds of Minds’ global event at the EICC in Edinburgh will run from 13 – 14 March 2023 bringing together more than 50 of the world’s top neurodiversity thinkers, alongside healthcare experts, policy decision-makers, educators, employers, and families. Neurodivergent people will be represented in every part of the programme and amongst the delegates.

Edinburgh will play host to the international conference organised by the Salvesen Mindroom Centre, an international centre of excellence focusing on all kinds of neurodiversity.

The neurodiverse speaker line-up will include neuroscientists and nutritionists, campaigners, clinicians, artists, actors, and activists.

Keynotes will include Professor Sue Gathercole, OBE, of the University of Cambridge – an expert in cognition and education, and Chair of the UK’s REF panel for Psychology, Psychiatry and Neuroscience, and Dr Kathy Leadbitter of University of Manchester, who has pioneered work on neurodiversity-informed early intervention.

Other key speakers include Swedish clinician and psychiatrist Dr Lotta Borg Skoglund, who has been commended for her research into gender and neurodiversity, as well as her efforts to break down stigmas faced by neurodivergent young people.

She will be joined by popular Scandinavian writer and speaker Pelle Sandstrak who uses humour to share experiences of living with Tourette syndrome, jewellery designer Charlotte Garnet who launched an “anti-anxiety” collection, and leading sexologist Professor Lotta Löfgren of University of Malmö.

Looking ahead to next year’s event, Sophie Dow, Founder of the Salvesen Mindroom Centre and Co-Chair of ITAKOM said: “Since launching in 2000, Salvesen Mindroom Centre has been committed to raising awareness of neurodiversity, supporting families and funding research to improve the lives of neurodivergent people.

“It Takes All Kinds of Minds is a conference like no other. It will bring together science and reality by drawing on personal, practitioner and academic experience from around the world. Uniting different perspectives will help us all to understand neurodiversity better and we look forward to welcoming guests from around the globe.”

Dr Sue Fletcher-Watson, Director of the Salvesen Mindroom Research Centre and Chair of the It Takes All Kinds of Minds conference, said: “Neurodiversity is such a powerful idea but its transformational potential is only just beginning to be explored.

“ITAKOM will provide a platform for experts to share their findings and ideas, and for collective exploration of how they can be applied. That’s why we’re bringing together lived, research and practitioner expertise at the ‘It Takes All Kinds of Minds’ event next year.”

Marshall Dallas, EICC Chief Executive, said: “We are thrilled that the ‘It Takes All Kinds of Minds’ conference has chosen Edinburgh and the EICC.  As a pioneering hub for life sciences, Edinburgh is very well placed to host to this major international event in the field of neurodiversity.

“We’re looking forward to welcoming everyone involved in the event to the EICC next March.”

The conference will run from 13 – 14 March 2023. Early-bird tickets are £195 for personal tickets, £295 for delegates with funding, and £137 for those on reduced incomes. They can be booked at itakom.org.

To mark the one-year countdown, Salvesen Mindroom Centre partnered with the EICC to host an event on Thursday, 24th March 2022 as part of the conference centre’s ‘EICC Live’ series.

‘EICC Live: Beautiful Brain’ featured world-renowned neurological experts and was the most popular event in the series to date, breaking previous sign-up records.