Story Circles

 

💙 Differently wired, deeply heard

I am aware of the unravelling of special needs provision in the UK and of the fears that many of us hold in our hearts for our children and grandchildren both now and into the future.

I am deeply troubled, both by the immediate losses for children and young people, when they are overlooked and excluded, and by the echoes into the future, diminishing the contributions they could have made to our communities.

Many of us feel isolated or unheard in our efforts to get our differently-wired children's needs met or in the aftermath of not having our own needs met in education and beyond.

This is a monthly circle, scheduled for the first or second Saturday of each month at 2.00 pm to 3.30 pm.

🌷 April 5th 2025
🌷 May 10th 2025
🌷 June 7th 2025
🌷 July 12th 2025

🌷 My Invitation:

I invite you to come and sit with me and to share some of your story or just to sit and see what emerges through our time together. 🌷

This is not about seeking or providing advice, answers or information but about sitting together in community and listening to each other without judgement or expectation.

This is an introvert-friendly space where your listening and presence are as valued as your voice.

This is for parents and carers of ‘differently-wired' children as well as other advocates for them, including differently-wired adults with their own challenging experiences in education, to share our stories and connect with each other in a private, safe and supportive space where your voice truly matters.

Saturday 5th April at 2.00 pm until 3.30 pm BST

There are twelve places available in the circle. We will meet on Zoom.

I will be very happy to see you there. 🙏🏻

How the 🔵 Story Circle Works:

We will by lighting a candle and settling ourselves. You might choose to light a candle too. I will share a short reading or poem related to the theme.

A short ‘check-in’ to introduce ourselves to the rest of the circle.

I will introduce a theme and ask you to share a piece of your experience around this theme, if and as you are moved to do so. There will be an opportunity for each member of the circle to speak but there is no requirement to speak.

Once everyone who wishes to has shared, without going back into anyone’s story, we will reflect on common themes that may have emerged and how, perhaps these are resonating with us.

I will ask everyone to share a word or phrase in farewell and I will close the meeting with a few words and we will extinguish our candles.

Who am I?

I am Davina, a mother and a grandmother, as well as an ex-teacher, and now a psychotherapist in private practice. I have struggled for decades to support children who are ‘differently-wired' through education systems that seem unable to sufficiently meet their needs. I also understand myself to be ‘differently-wired’.

Listening in Story Circle

We listen to each other in circle silently and without offering any response or suggestion or advice, and without interruption. Your listening and your silence are valued as much as your voice in circle.

Everything that is shared is confidential and we all agree not to share or refer back anyone’s sharing outside the circle. This also means not referring back to someone’s story in conversation with them.

Speaking in Circle

You cannot be ‘too much’ and you cannot be ‘too quiet’. That said, we do have limited time and want everyone to have the opportunity to speak so I do ask that we are mindful of this. I will gently remind circle if time is getting short.

In circle we welcome all perspectives and experiences and we ask everyone to speak from their own truth, without judgment or assumptions about others.

What do I mean by differently-wired?

By 'differently-wired' I mean neurodivergent, perhaps having unique strengths in areas like creativity, problem-solving, or sensory processing, or experiencing challenges in areas like social interaction or attention. Possibly people with autism ADHD or giftedness or twice-exceptional people.