Lived Experiences
Lived Experience Conference
Lovely to be able to attend the lived experience conference with a few of our peer support volunteers today. We had some wonderful conversations and listened to fantastic talks with other organisations that follow a similar ethos and approach as we do as a charity. Sharing personal experiences, invaluable knowledge and insight to support and…
Read MoreSharing neurodivergent voices
As part of our self advocacy service, we have created the opportunity for neurodivergent people in Tees Valley to share their lived experience. We hold a weekly self-advocacy group, where members are invited to discuss various topics that affect us. We regularly invite outside services, such as Safer Communities and Arch, to the group to…
Read MoreGiving back to your community
Giving back to your community We had a lovely volunteer catch up yesterday over at Flok Co-Working Space sharing some fantastic ideas and getting a start on plans to celebrate Neurodiversity Pride in June. If you’re looking to volunteer, gain some work experience or give your time back to a deserving community NOW is a…
Read MoreBe proud of every step you take
Whatever your goals and aspirations, sometimes getting there can be challenging and the setbacks exhausting especially for those that are neurodivergent. What if we told you, you don’t have to wait until you reach your goal to be proud. Every step is something to celebrate. Even something that may feel like a mistake is an…
Read MoreDaniel’s Journey
My Journey Hi, I’m Dan and I help with the social media for Tees Valley Buddies. Since it’s Autism Awareness Week, I wanted to talk about my journey with being neurodivergent (autistic). I didn’t have many friends growing up, and I was ok with that. I saw school as an opportunity to learn but not…
Read MoreWhy the charity was founded
When I told people I was starting a neurodiversity charity I was mocked and laughed at. I would get comments like “neurodiversity would never work” and “ you can’t change the thought, learning and thinking process of the way humans have been conditioned for hundreds of years!!! Just because we have been conditioned this way…
Read MoreJaime’s Autistic Journey
This is my autism journey so far – two years on. By Jaime Appleby- Tees Valley Buddies I was diagnosed as autistic in January 2020, aged 32, and since then I have been on a discovery journey. The first year after I was diagnosed, I was still getting my head around it all.…
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