Growing up in the 1990s, secondary school was a nightmare for him. The victim of bullies and an education system that branded him stupid and brutalised his sense of self-worth, one of the most astonishing things about Darren is that he isn’t bitter or angry. He just wants to make the world a better place for neurodiverse people – somewhere that values the neurological differences that give people unusual perspectives and the capacity to think outside the box. Darren was not diagnosed with dyslexia until he was 37, but even if he’d had the diagnosis it’s possible it wouldn’t have made much difference to the way the education system would have treated him in the 1990s. He spent most of his school days in “The Unit”, a tatty, uninsulated portacabin on the edge of the school grounds where the “problem” kids were sent - allegedly to receive additional support, but in practice to get them out of the way. He was not even entered for exams – he was given colouring books to pass the time while his friends and classmates sat their GCSEs.

My aim with Neurodiversity Stories is to educate, inspire and motivate people to see a different side to Neurodiversty 💙    

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