Good morning, Laura.

Morning, Henry. How are you?

I am fantastic and buzzing for the second day of the conference and all that it contains. I'm thrilled to be kicking off the ADHD UK segment and day with you. We've talked over a number of months to say that you're a passionate advocate and it's to underplay significantly you. What you're doing is pioneering and absolutely fantastic. You've got slides I need to hand over to you.

Thank you. And I think, you know, on that, I'm a passionate advocate. I think if what I'm gonna speak about in this presentation, if we can get more people with ADHD or other neurodivergent in into government, I think you'll there there would be a way if you never think it's the passion that comes from a lot of different people. So so thank you. So, yeah, my my segment here is is leading with lived experience and about how we get ADHD and neurodivergent voices into government and how change really happens. So so who am I? So I'm as Henry introduced me, a counselor for Newport in Wales, social services cabinet member. I also have a full time job as well with I work for Orange, the telecoms company. And I'm a fraud and data analytics manager.

Also an ADHD ambassador, parent of two neurodivergent children, and I myself have a diagnosis of ADHD, autism, and dyslexia. So I wear a number of a number of different hats. So so for me, my lived experience is is every is every part of my my being, really. So so so what brought me into into politics? It wasn't I never set out to become a politician. Watched the news when I was in my teens maybe didn't didn't understand, had no interest in in politics, but I'm I'm sure this would perhaps resonate with with a lot of other people on this call watching this watching this conference. I was always chasing something, and this is previous to my diagnosis. So so I should little roll back a little. My my diagnosis for ADHD and autism came.

In my mid forties. Dyslexia was at the in my early forties. So so, again, I didn't know what was going on. I just thought there was I was always chasing something, getting new qualifications, how many hobbies, you know, that my cupboards are full of that that those piles of x hobbies. I'm a I qualified myself as a naturopath. I've got prince two qualifications. You know, I just there was something that I was always chasing. And when my children started mainstream education school, I joined the PTA and then I became the chair of the PTA and then I joined the school governing body. So you can see this this little buildup starting to starting to happen. And we've always been members of a of a of a political party locally, and.

We were helping with the senate elections with a good friend of mine who's Jane Bryant who's actually a member senate member for Newport. And I was approached to say, I consider possibly running as a as a local councilor because there was an election coming up in 2017. Of course, it was another challenge for me. It was something else that I was gonna keep driving forward bearing in mind at this point, I guess, I had two two young children and full time job, but, you know, this this just add adds on to it. But it when I got into politics and I really so when I got into the council, obviously got I got elected. It you suddenly saw what what you could do and what how you could help. But I think I had a diagnosis.

There was always this passionate drive with me that something wasn't right for somebody. If they were coming to me to help, I have to help them. I can't stop helping them until this is until I've seen this through to fruition. So I think and that is a very much a characteristic of of people with ADHD, people with autism. It's that real key sense of social justice that gives you this unstoppable drive to push forward. I think this is where so for me, it's oh, gosh. I've been there for now for eight years, and I've worked my way through. So I was I've obviously a backbench cabinet member. I've chaired the scrutiny panel. I was then made I was a cabinet member for infrastructure and assets.

And then in the last two years, I've been the cabinet member for social services. And that to me is just it's almost like I found my place. You know? You've I'm helping people with really, really complex need, but I get to I get to have a voice. Regional partnership boards, I get to have a voice within council. People people listen to me, that's really powerful. That's really powerful to be in that position. So So I think I've as I said, I found I found my space, and I found somewhere where that that in stop unstoppable ADHD drive is a force for something really good. So so that that's where I am. So as I said, why politics? So so now I understand. So when I'm not just consulting. We're just consulted as part of the survey.

We're actually there. We're actually defining policy. I'm saying this isn't right. This isn't going to work. You know? Oh, yeah. You know, we want x y zed or or officers or, you know, higher politicians say, right. We're gonna change this now. How does this that's what we need to do. We've we've, you know, we've taken the average person and now I'm a voice within that room saying, no. We have to stop here. This isn't going to help. This this might help 90% of the population, but there's there's 10% of that population that this is gonna detriment. Not just not help, but actually gonna go into detriment. So I think I stand there now with that stop imposting and that voice that is is able to be listened to with a really supportive team.

Political team that, you know, I work with a group and and a cabinet group as well. So so this is it. So representation matters. Of course, it does. And I think, as I said, just just alluded to, without us policies miss real need. They're designed for, like, you know, let's have a look at the education system, for example, is a is a prime example of, you know, it's it's it's me to the masses, but but it's really, really detrimental to some children that are going through that education system and and it's so bad. So so when when we're there, we can now say, stop. Let's shift. Let's have a look what's happening. You know, this isn't this isn't right for us.

And we need there needs to be another way or, you know, how how do we how do we make make changes? So my big one, I guess, is why perhaps why I'm sitting here as well is that I think it was two two or three months ago, we put a motion into Newport City Council to make Newport Newport City come Newport City a neurodivergent friendly city. There are two two video clips embedded into this, but I don't think they'll play. So I I'm not I'm not gonna worry too much about that. But just to give you a sort of perspective on on how how this works. So basic a really good friend of mine and colleague and counsel Steven Marshall dropped me an email and said, you know, how about we push this motion forward? Let's work on this together. So what what.

What we did here was we wrote we wrote the motion based on how how do we make how do you make a city neurodivergent friendly? But not just how do you make the city neurodivergent friendly, but how do you make it so it's not a token gesture that it is actually workable. It it's doable. So we're not just saying, right. This is everything that we need. This is our big wish list. This is how we this is what we have to do to make the city for new leverage and friendly. So we we we spent a lot of time writing writing the motion that that you can see on the screen now.

Again, apologies. It's a little bit it's quite it's a little bit blurred if you can't see that, but I'm more than happy to provide the documents afterwards if if that's a if that's a possibility for me. But, basically, what what it does say, there's there's a there's a big element in there of needing all council staff to be trained on neurodivergent, so autism, ADHD, of course, dyslexia. And the real important line in there for me was that training line because what I've seen from my lived experience then through my children was that you've got these amazing ALN codes in or additional learning needs coordinators in in their education setting, and you've got a core of teachers that are very, very.

They're savvy. They know what they know how to help these children when they're in the classroom. I'm particularly talking about mainstream, I guess, students with with ADHD. But there are an element of of people that come in to the education setting and it tends to be perhaps through supply or cover that don't understand the neurodivergent and don't understand the the behavior sometimes, you know, especially for ADHD. And it's because they're dysregulated. And the first thing that they would do is take that child out of that classroom and send them into an isolation setting or a detention setting. And this is when we start to see these children fall into the gaps because they they, you know, they become very dysregulated.

It it carries on throughout the day, and then it goes into the next day because you get that rejection sentence for you that they think it's all been it's all it's gonna be held a grudge against. And when they go into school the next day, it's gonna happen again. And then you get this this this just this downward spiral of of behaviors on our children. And and I'm saying that as through.

Experience that this this was happening this was happening to my daughter. And it was always happening when there was a supply teacher, or it was always happening when there was a when there was a power teacher who didn't know her. And I thought, right, how do we what do we do to help these children when it's through no fault of their own? Don't get me wrong. You know, they can still some of these children can actually just be playing a teacher up. And and I'm acutely aware of that, you know, but there are most of the time, it was through dysregulation.

And one way we thought that we could do that, as a governor, you have to have mandatory safeguarding training. You have to have mandatory training in a number of different things. And what we wanted the big the big part of this is if what we wanted is mandatory training on neurodivergent for all staff again. And that runs through the that will run through the council as well. And, obviously, you can't be an in-depth training, but it could be quite a high level training of, you know, how to spot dysregulation, why people you know, if you've got a child that's not making eye contact, it doesn't mean that they're being disrespectful. You know, a lot of little.

Things that could be could be shown to to to governors, people that work in in the council of just just little things that could really make a big difference to help. And then so that was one part of the one part of the motion that, you know, was really important for us. Another part of it then was making making elected making the pathway to being elected member more accessible because the more people that we get into politics, the more neurodivergent minds we get into politics, this is when we start to see change happen because I've been given a seat at that table with my passion and with my drive, and I know my other colleague, because as I mentioned, Stephen Marshall, is exactly the same. That passion and that drive and we sit there.

This is when you see the change happen. And and what so as I said, and that impact of representation. So when we presented that motion to council, I I I have to read the motion out which, you know, I laughed to myself because I wrote the longest political motion and I'm dyslexic. And I I had to read that motion out word for word in the chamber whilst, you know, it was it was being livestreamed and then followed that up with my backing of that motion, which which was in the video, but I said, I I don't think that's actually gonna play. And I had so many emails and contact afterwards saying, wow, you know, you speak for me. I I didn't realize, you know, and.

They had oh, you understand me. You understand my life. And I know a number of other colleagues of mine also had the same thing. So that importance, really, as I said, in this impact of representation is that families feel seen because sometimes it can be so isolating kind of when you can't get any answers, when you're trying to get help. And we're often demonized, I guess, in politics that, oh, we they don't understand. They sit up there. They make these policies. And and I think for the member in some who watched that livestreamed or someone watched it after actually saw there are a number of people that are sat in that chamber that absolutely understand.

What I'm going through, how it hurts, how hard it can be, the battles that we have to go through. And and they're there and they're speaking on my behalf. And actually, now they they they get me and they understand me. And I think, again, family feels that children feel that they belong. There is nothing more powerful than fighting for your own child and fighting for other children because they see that then as they've grown up that it's almost the behavior that is expected of them. You know, we I my daughter and my both my daughters see that the battles that I go into for them and or the battles that I go into for other people when something is unjust and something isn't right. And having that platform to stand there and.

Fight those battles on behalf of the children of Newport for them to be seen and for them to be heard and for them to be get given the the right to education, the right to adjustment, you know, is is really, really powerful. And then, you know, it it it has this ripple effect. So so so the vision on all this, where does where does this go? So I spoke in the at the beginning of the summer in in the house of lords. It it wasn't particularly on neurodivergent, but it was to do with children that that were leaving care. But.

I got a seat at that table, and I got a seat at that table with some very, very powerful people that I can then network with, I can then speak to. And it and it allows you get that footing. And this is this is where these laws are made. This is where these the the the high level policies happen. And so I think what what I wanna do is is by making the government sector more accessible to new, like, emerging people, ADHD people particularly knew that passion, drive that we have that instinctual engine that just keeps going really happening, not just being consulted on, but actually making the policy because don't you find so, you know, it's when the decision making processes are accessible and when the consultations.

You know, they they get to the to the the people that really need it, you know, this this is that this is when change happens because it's about the people who are shaping and implementing the policy, not the people that are being listened to. Because what happens is, you know, you can you can be consulted. You can say, yep. This is what this is what is needed for ADHD people to thrive. And then once you've done your consultation, you take a step back.

And the people that are implementing that policy then might just think, oh, well, you know, it was only it was only one in 10 people that said that this is what we needed. We we we don't need that now. We'll we'll leave that out in in so we can get that policy through a little bit quicker or a little bit more cost effective. When we're there, and I know this, I know this is myself, but I know this is of of Steven and I know this is a number of other of my colleagues. You can't drop that because we're still there saying, yeah, but you've missed this part. Hang on. That needs to go back in. Stop. This is how this this needs to do. And we're actually then telling them, you know, it it you you.

You can't. You have to follow it through. So so that I think that they're in this is the power. It's it's brilliant consulting. It's, of course, we have to do consultation. Of course, we have to listen to lived experience voices. I don't profess to be the voice of every person that that has ADHD or autism or has children in that case. But what we do is almost like we will we we we push it. We keep we keep it until it's finished, and we keep set we keep on and we keep on. And I think having having people like us, ADHD people at all those levels of government, that that is it. That is really when we start to see the change happen. Just waiting for my slide to my slide. Sorry. I can't see the to see if I find that my final.

Slide decks are loaded. Just bear with me a second. No. It's okay. Okay. So what I'll what I'll carry on, though. So so how do we how do we get more people? How do we get these voices in into government? And for me, I think it's it's we start at the we start at that bottom level and start you start at that bottom level. You get involved in the communities. You get involved in classroom camp classroom council sessions. You know, you get involved in youth councils. You get involved in start with your PTA. Understand that sense of organization, and then you can move up slightly again.

And, you know, there are elections coming shortly, which is which is both really frightening and also really powerful. I think, you know, there's a chance that we can step in into place. And I just think everybody's voice matters. Of course, it does. But get your feet under that table. And and and another good friend of mine who who also she runs a number of community groups, Jolene, said and shared my post when I was saying that this motion was coming forward. And she said, you know, this is what happens when you get neurodivergent people at that table, the table where people are are not just listening to, but the table that where people are actually pushing pushing forward for policy change.

And moving forward. And I just think it's a bit of a for me, it'll be a call to action, you know, if if you, you know I can't I I would say I can't recommend politics a scary place at the moment because it's very, very toxic out there, and you also have to have a really thick skin. You know, your rejection sensitive is for you when you hear things about you online or people say these things about you. It took me a long time to.

Let that go over my head and and let people you know, for people to for me to realize that actually these people don't really know me yet on on a personal level. So what they're saying is out of perhaps frustration or different things. So that I will put that as a little warning sign that if you do get into politics, please just ignore anything that's said about you on social media or, you know, actually in the media or anything because they they don't they don't know you and actually ignore that because the things that you can do to push forward are so much better. But, really, I cannot it's a funny one, isn't it? I cannot recommend getting into politics enough for ADHD people because.

We've got that fire in our belly and that push forward and we can do so many different things at the same time. You know, I can work full time. I can do this full I can do this almost full time. And it's I would not be able to do what I'm doing or I wouldn't have that drive, that physical drive, about mental drive if it was not for my ADHD. And don't get me wrong. You know, there have been a number of years previous to me being like this now that, you know, it was very hard. I never wanna dismiss, you know, the struggles that people with ADHD go through. But actually, when you get to that point and when you find that thing, politics being my thing, the changes that you can implement and the policy that you can help shape at a really.

Deep level is is very powerful. And I've I've I've Henry's, of course, got my contact details and and they can be shared. I'm on LinkedIn and and Instagram. If anybody ever wants to contact me and ask me how how to do this, how did we get into politics, you know, how can I help, anything? I'm more more than welcome to speak to anybody or contact. You know? This is a this is a very important place for us to be at right now. And as I said, not just consulted, making those making those making those changes, implementing those policies. Let's get us into every level of government from local government.

National government. Let's get us in I'm you know, let's get us into that into onto those red seats in the house of lords because we deserve to be there. Our representation matters and we've got a that we we our lived experience is is powerful in terms of helping so many other people coming up behind us that I think it's just you know, hopefully, you can see that the passion that I speak within in this area. And it's.

For me, as I said, it it it was on it saved me, I guess. Politics saved me. But then how can I go forward and help save so many other people by doing what I'm doing? And that that insatiable drive I wake up to every morning thinking, right. What what today? I'm I'm exhausted, but who am I gonna help today? How can I help this person? And you don't ever let it you don't ever let it go. You don't ever let it go. And I think that's the other the other positive about ADHD and neurodivergent people as well is that that once you've been given that problem trying to help somebody, we never let it go until that solution is fixed, and it can be absolutely frustrating. But, you know, we we we keep fighting for those people, don't we, when those.

When it's when, you know, it's unfair or unjust, you know, let me at them. Let's see what we can do today. And, yeah, I think that's that's it for me. So thank you everybody that that listened. I guess I'll just wait for Henry to come back in.

Appear as if by magic also an apology because it was it was me in the background sorting out slides and I mucked yours up so I'm cool on me. No wonder of life doing things live. Laura, you're amazing, and you're an absolute testament to what getting involved can achieve and and how fulfilling it is. It I think it is a place for neurodivergent people. Their voice is incredibly important. And you're talking about it's not just about the initiative. It's about all the other times when you go, this is missing. We've not considered this aspect for neurodivergent people. And it's the changes in the detail that cumulatively make a huge difference. That's, I think, famously done by the.

Olympic Team GB cycling team, which said, you know, we make these small, small changes incrementally. They make a big difference. And you're talking about both. It's the big changes, things like the neurodivergent friendly initiative, and it's the small changes, the little changes that go throughout. Now I think it's I think you're an absolute pioneer. I think you're wonderful, and I think what you're doing is leading the way as a shining light. I'm excited for it.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you for having me today.

But politics is brutal. Right? Like, you're there to make a difference. You're making a difference. But the political and so Wales has elections coming up. But what are your views on on that and the choice for Wales coming up.

It's frightening, I think. It's scary because, you know, we are looking like there's gonna be a change or however that change is going to be, but it does frighten me because, obviously, in Wales, we're going through that neurodivergent improvement plan phase as well where there's currently money going into looking at what we're doing. And, you know, will these initiatives get stopped? We don't know when there's change of government, whoever it might be, you know, what the work that's currently happening. How how do we know that that's going to continue? But it, you know, it it it is frightening. It and I have a number of people that come up to me saying, well, what what are we gonna do? How are we gonna sort this? But I just think it's the.

The lack of a knowing of as to what net the year after. So from the last point of view, then then the year after, we go through our local government elections as well. And it, you know, it it it's just hard to 2026.

Is the 2026 is the elections for the The senate. Whereas the senate and then and then senate and then council elections in 2027.

Yeah. And that Yeah. And that's that's the scary thing. So we're trying to push through as much as we can now of of the the new job very friendly. Get these in now so they're already embedded and you really don't know what's gonna happen. I don't know. Oh my goodness. What happens if I don't have politics to do when I've after '27? I don't know what I'm gonna do.

Well, I'd I'd push for you in there in that. You mentioned the house of laws. Like, yeah, let's let's let's make that a campaign. You're fantastic. I've got to move on. We've we've gotta hit our times. Thank you so, so much, and thank you for Thank all you're you for being part of this. You're incredible, and thank you for kicking off the ADHD UK second segment.

Thanks. Bye. Bye.