Gecko Community

07/09/2026

A little reminder that Autistic Burnout IS real, it IS experienced by many, many young Autistic people and it DOES need validating and recognising.

Most importantly, it requires professionals to understand and have real knowledge in this area, rather than dismissing it out of hand.

News flash!!! AUTISTIC BURNOUT IN CHILDREN & YOUNG PEOPLE IS REAL and requires a unique approach and understanding!!!

I can’t remember where I was quite up to last time I posted!!

Anyway….. I have now met with my 10 children and young people and I am starting to listen to and read everything that was said, discussed and shared……

And once again….. wow! Amazing! Insightful! Brave! Honest! Real! Heartbreaking! Powerful! And so much more. 😢

What I see emerging at the moment is overlapping with what he see in adult autistic burnout research…..

Presentation of reduced tolerance to sensory input, chronic exhaustion that isn’t eased with sleep, unable to manage socialisation or activities they love….

Equally many of the things that help show matches to adult research; extended rest, time with special interests, long periods of low to no demands….

But one of the differences from what we read in adult research, is how children and young people feel unable to rest due to pressures on themselves or their parents to “keep going”, “pushing through” and how this pressure even when they just can’t keep going means less rest or rest that isn’t actually restful but rather full of guilt and anxiety!

There has been general consensus that “pushing through” has only prolonged recovery and made things worse!

There is so much more to come from this research and these young people’s voices and this is only a smidgen of what is emerging so far.

One thing that I can be sure of from this is that autistic burnout is very real, very disabling and requires high levels of empathy and understanding to ensure recovery is supported and handled safely.

17/06/2026

We are looking for an English GCSE teacher and a Maths Functional Skills teacher for a young Autistic adult (female, age 18).

Location: Preston, Lancashire. 4 hours a week (split between the subjects), term time. In person.

The purpose of the role is to teach and support J’s confidence and development of her learning skills as well as her general wellbeing. This will need a slow and gentle approach where all sessions are student led.

The teaching will be delivered 1:1 in the home.

This would be someone to:
Provide companionship and engagement in meaningful discussions on J’s interests; including birds of prey, literature and politics.
Support J to advocate for herself and recognise when she may need a break.
Ensure J’s needs are respected; help navigate emotions and self-regulation, providing reassurance in stressful or overwhelming situations.
Provide trauma-informed support and be able to engage in potentially difficult conversations.
Slowly, over time, to work towards qualifications in English and Maths through topics led by J.
Sessions should aspire to be an hour at a time, but will take time to build up. Sessions may be small 10 minute snap shots at first.

About J
J is an intelligent and funny individual with a strong passion for birds of prey, politics, current affairs, literature, culture (especially Japanese culture), and video games. She is an avid reader of Sylvia Plath, Franz Kafka, and Osamu Dazai and enjoys in-depth discussions on a range of topics. J is a talented artist. J has many cats.

Person specification -
A gentle and nurturing person. Trust and reliability are crucial.
More than two years experience working with Neurodivergent young people or adults. (For example Teaching, Counselling, Youth work or Mentoring experience)
Lived experience or awareness of Chronic Fatigue / Illness, Autism, PDA, low mental health and self - harm.
Ability to trust the process and the young person and understand that it takes time to build trusting relationships.
Able to work in a non-hierarchical way
The four hours would include a catch up meeting with staff at Gecko who support J.

Other information
This role is through Gecko Community www.geckocommunity.org.uk
Term time only (38 weeks of the year).
Training will be provided.
The post holder will undergo an enhanced DBS check.
The right candidate may be offered online hours too with other students.
We are an equal opportunity company and encourage applications from neurodivergent individuals.
Start date 1st September 2026.
Apply to [email protected] with your CV by Monday 6th July 12pm.
Interviews online on Friday 10th July.

About us
Gecko Community is a grass-roots charity operating across England. We support students aged between 5 - 25 who; are Autistic, have ADHD, are experiencing anxiety or mental ill health, have experienced bullying and trauma. At Gecko, we combine the alternative education needed by these students with an appreciation of the wellbeing essential to their social integration and personal confidence.

This is an opportunity to contribute to the holistic progress of young people. The students we work with are often extremely motivated to learn although usually dealing with barriers to their learning. Our approach allows multifaceted interventions addressing students’ academic, social, emotional and mental wellbeing. This is a chance to do what we all got into teaching to do, make a meaningful difference to the lives of young people.

Please email us to have a chat about the position at [email protected].

we have spaces now for ages 11+ EMPOWER, INSPIRE, Educate we are opening a small hub near frome, Somerset Info here For Neurodivergent peopleby Neurodivergent people Gecko Community is a registered Charity (1195860) providing innovative teaching, therapeutic projects and mentoring. We are a Neurodiv...

14/06/2026

This piece is so beautifully written and so relatable for myself and some of the young people we work with.
Well worth a read and much reflecting upon.

10/03/2026

An interest in video editing combined with a creative idea, has resulted in one of our young people creating this awesome Gecko promo, with a personal twist. Using creative cutaways, finding footage and using their own shots resulted in them creating a high quality production that gets to the point of what Gecko is all about.

Sharing with their permission.

10/03/2026

Just a gentle reminder this is tomorrow. Link in comments

New Live Webinar Announcement!!

Today we did a live Q&A for the PDA societies' burnout conference and there was just not enough time to get through the many questions which was really disappointing.

So, I have convinced Mel to join me on a live Q&A session, for people to bring along questions or simply listen to responses of others questions.

Please tag and share 🙏🏼

Sign Up link in comments.
Respond to the events page for updates!

27/02/2026

An open Q and A - Ask us Anything! (Not quite anything, but I'll let you know if I can't/won't answer it) 😁

Link in the comments of the share below, or go to Jodie Clarke, Children's Well-being Practitioner & Autism Specialist for more info of dates and how to sign up.

New Live Webinar Announcement!!

Today we did a live Q&A for the PDA societies' burnout conference and there was just not enough time to get through the many questions which was really disappointing.

So, I have convinced Mel to join me on a live Q&A session, for people to bring along questions or simply listen to responses of others questions.

Please tag and share 🙏🏼

Sign Up link in comments.
Respond to the events page for updates!

21/01/2026

My and Brook (No Pressure PDA)'s book is released today

We contemplated making a party for it on social media with banners and bling...

but realised we were both exhausted and barely able to function; that this was because our PDA brains were wrung out from:

- All the behind-the-scenes prep work we'vew been doing for this launch, flat out since September

- The demand pressure of launching our business and the compound, extra demands this will continue to bombard us with

We're wise enough to our PDA to know to step lightly with it.

To not "wake" our slumbering PDA "dragons".

That, no matter how many exciting things we might want to do, we absolutely must prioritise which ones to channel our limited, demand-avoidance busting energies into.

Our business prevailed.

The launch party was vetoed.

But this doesn't mean we're not putting our all into our business.

Go on then, before hitting "Next" in making this post, I'll create an ironically puny balloon graphic to mark our launch!!

Worldwide book link: https://mybook.to/oouIo

Our website: https://pda-insiders.com

21/01/2026

🎉🎉BIRTHDAY BOOK GIVEAWAY!!!! 🎉🎉

COMPETITION NOW CLOSED- but book can be purchased online via Amazon, Waterstones etc

I would like to celebrate our 1st birthday 🎂 by gifting 3 books!

I am asking everyone who would like to be considered for a book, to comment on this post. Any comment, tagging of a friend or emoji is valid x

If you have read the book, I would value your feedback in the comments and you too will be entered for a chance to win a copy, which you can keep as a spare or gift to someone who you feel needs it (this could be a professional or your LA 😜)

Winners will be announced on Friday.
A link to more info on the book can be found in the comments. Please share xx

20/11/2025

One of our young people has chosen to raise funds for these amazing Charities (including us!). He's at the point where he feels ready for this epic step, but we know too, the challenges many of us face when having haircuts.
We're all in awe of his determination to help Charities that are important to him at the same time. Thank you :)

See original post for more info and how to donate.

Kindly asking for donations..... many of you will know I have my own ND children..... and will also know how so many of us have challenges with having our hair cut. (And I know as even his Mum, I am definitely going to struggle with the change!!)

Well after 6 years, one of my little people is wanting to be proper brave and have a big chop..... so we decided its a great opportunity to fundriase for some charities that he feels are important.

More info and donation link here; https://gofund.me/ca8f20f8e

10/11/2025

Recently, a professional wrote that presuming competence is dangerous because it leads us to overlook vulnerability. That by presuming competence, we fail to protect, fail to offer help, fail to teach and assume people already know skills they have not yet learned. The professional’s stance confuses competence with current performance and support with correction or training.

This is not presuming competence. This is neglect.

Presuming competence is not an instructional strategy nor a belief about skill level. Presuming competence doesn’t mean assuming the person already has every skill but not demanding of someone to prove their right to access before we are willing to help them learn.

To presume competence is to recognise that a person’s understanding, agency, emotional depth and capacity for meaning-making exist regardless of whether they can demonstrate those things in neuronormative ways.
We do not treat a person as less intelligent because they communicate, learn or express differently.
We should assume cognitive presence, even when expression is delayed, non-linear or happens through non-speech communication.
We must provide access, support, scaffolding and alternative communication methods without requiring someone to prove they deserve them.

Presuming competence is an ethical stance that does not reduce someone to what is observable, nor treat one's humanity as being contingent on performance.

Moreso, vulnerability and competence are not opposites... A person can be deeply vulnerable and competent at the same time. Presuming competence allows us to support that vulnerability with dignity, instead of controlling it through fear of what might happen if we get it wrong.

Bottom line is that we don’t presume finished ability. We presume capacity, presence and potential and we support the person in accessing and expressing it.