Practical GCSE revision support for autistic and neurodivergent students, with study skills strategies for planning, organisation and executive functioning. GCSE revision advice often begins with instructions such as “make a timetable”, “break the work into chunks” or “start with the topics you find hardest”. These can be useful suggestions, but putting them into practice requires … Continue reading GCSE Revision for Autistic and Neurodivergent Students: Making Study Skills Explicit
Woodbury
Posts written in and about Woodbury, Devon — reflections on community, local learning, and inclusion by Kate Coldrick.
Teaching GCSE English Language Analysis for Autistic and Neurodivergent Students
Developing inference and precise explanations through practical writing. In my work teaching GCSE English Language to autistic and other neurodivergent students, I often encounter a difficulty that becomes more apparent once a student has learned the expected shape of an analytical answer. They can select a relevant quotation and identify a feeling or impression, but … Continue reading Teaching GCSE English Language Analysis for Autistic and Neurodivergent Students
Unseen Vulnerability: Defending Autistic Clients in Police Interrogations
I’m very pleased to be working with Ian Ross and Tartan Forensic on Unseen Vulnerability: Defending Autistic Clients in Police Interrogations, a recorded training course for criminal defence professionals. My work as a literacy tutor and educational writer centres on helping people access information, communicate and participate. Through teaching autistic learners and developing inclusive resources, … Continue reading Unseen Vulnerability: Defending Autistic Clients in Police Interrogations
Teaching GCSE Transactional Writing for Autistic and Neurodivergent Students
AQA GCSE English Language Paper 2, Question 5 asks students to present a viewpoint for a specified audience, purpose and form. The question may require an article, letter, speech or other piece of transactional writing. The task carries 40 marks: 24 for content and organisation and 16 for technical accuracy. Students therefore need to generate … Continue reading Teaching GCSE Transactional Writing for Autistic and Neurodivergent Students
Autism, anxiety and uncertainty: a visual guide to feeling stuck
Why can an uncertain plan, an unanswered message or a decision about the future feel so difficult to leave open? For some autistic people, the problem is more than wanting to know what will happen. The uncertainty itself can become exhausting, especially when there is no way to get a definite answer yet. I have … Continue reading Autism, anxiety and uncertainty: a visual guide to feeling stuck
GCSE English Language November resit: a focused Question 4 revision strategy
I have created a pair of structured worksheets for students who gained a grade 3 in GCSE English Language in the summer and are preparing to take the November resit examinations. The resource focuses on Question 4 from both AQA papers, using repeatable methods that can be taught and practised within the relatively short resit … Continue reading GCSE English Language November resit: a focused Question 4 revision strategy
New Edutopia Article: Making Assessments More Accessible Without Lowering Expectations
My latest article for Edutopia has now been published: 5 Ways to Make Assessments More Accessible Without Lowering Expectations. The article grew out of a question I return to often in my teaching: what is an assessment really measuring? Many pupils can understand an idea, explain it in conversation, or show their thinking when the … Continue reading New Edutopia Article: Making Assessments More Accessible Without Lowering Expectations
They Look as Though They’re Coping. But What Does It Cost?
Autism, masking and the limits of observable behaviour Earlier this year, TES published an interview with Dame Uta Frith under the headline Why I no longer think autism is a spectrum. Frith has been one of the most influential figures in autism research for decades, and her change of position is significant. She argues that … Continue reading They Look as Though They’re Coping. But What Does It Cost?
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