A few days ago I was at a specialist appointment with one of my kids. At some point the conversation turned to teen fatigue across the school week – the kind of bone-tired-by-Thursday feeling that a lot of parents will recognise. The specialist responded in a very matter-of-fact way: “It’s cognitive load”. I thought about that… Read More It’s Not Just the Tech: The Hidden Cognitive Load of the Physical Workplace
I’m trying to walk more at the moment, and walking means alone time, pondering, and ideas… and more writing. The concept of cognitive load has been on my mind, which I think was triggered by a small, unremarkable moment. I was trying to find a file. I couldn’t remember if it was in Teams, SharePoint,… Read More The Hidden Cost of Tool Sprawl: What It’s Actually Doing to Your Brain
There’s a conversation happening in many AI training sessions that I think is missing something important. It usually goes like this: here’s a framework, here are the parts, here’s an example, now you try. And the framework is genuinely useful. I wrote about why I use two of them and when to switch between them. Structures like… Read More Prompting as a cognitive skill, not a technical one
I’ve been thinking about this for a while. I use AI regularly and benefit from doing faster work, help thinking more clearly on hard days, and getting through content I’d otherwise struggle to start. But I’ve also caught myself wondering… am I building a crutch? Given how passionate I am about Executive Functions, and how… Read More AI and Executive Functions: Is It Helping or Harming You?
Do an online search containing the words autism and suicide and the results may shock you. It isn’t something that many people probably spend much time thinking about, but to those who are autistic, or have an autistic person in their life, the mental health challenges and suicide risk is a scary reality in the… Read More The harsh reality of suicide risk and autism
I feel like everyone is talking about ADHD. There is certainly a spike at present, being ADHD awareness month, but also because lately I have been following many people online who are increasing public dialogue and sharing experiences. I am definitely aware that I am kind of in a bubble of neurodiversity – actively seeking… Read More 4 things many people don’t know about ADHD
April is Autism Awareness month, and April 2nd is World Autism Awareness Day. To mark this important period, I wanted to share why I personally feel it is important to put myself out there and be open about my own Autism diagnosis, even at risk of judgement, impacting relationships or my career. I was diagnosed… Read More Why I choose to be open about my autism
There has been so much negative commentary and attention on Greta Thunberg. As a female autistic person I have been quite shocked at times at what I have observed in the news and social media.What has stood out to me is the reaction people are having to Greta. And it’s not necessarily about her speeches,… Read More I am a fellow autistic female and these are my thoughts on Greta Thunberg
I attended Microsoft Ignite last week in 3 different roles. Firstly, what triggered me to travel to the conference, was representing neurodiversity as an autistic individual. I was asked by Microsoft to lead some table discussions each day as part of the area setup by the Humans of IT community. The second role I played… Read More Microsoft Ignite Part 1: A Neurodiverse Perspective
Neurodiversity is a term used to describe conditions like autism, dyslexia and ADHD. The growing focus on diversity and inclusion in many workplaces can increase awareness of the variety of communication and work styles. With this increasing dialogue comes a shift in the focus of atypical ways of thinking or learning, away from the deficits,… Read More Neurodiversity, Technology and the Workplace