Neurodiversity
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Forging a new path
Based on her own childhood experiences , Madeleine has set out to help autistic individuals to ‘ understand their diagnosis , to keep a sense of self and maintain self-esteem after diagnosis ’.
And to that end , on top of her work with the theatre company and writing a radio play , she has also spent 10 years writing a book to ‘ support individuals on the spectrum , at the very least to not feel alone , and know that there are many others out there who are like them in the world ’.
Another of her wishes is ‘ to support occupational therapists to undertake client centred assessments and to understand how to collaborate with individuals on the spectrum ’.
Which leads us back to Madeleine ’ s new career path . ‘ From a young age ,’ she says , ‘ I had a keen desire to alleviate the suffering of others . I had episodic depression from a young age , so I always wanted to support others to find happiness and live in the best possible way , to be the best , authentic versions of themselves .’ After completing a master ’ s degree in Playwriting Studies , Madeleine found herself working in care . ‘ Initially , I worked with older adults in the community , and then I moved on to work in a medium secure mental health hospital across eight different wards ,’ she explains .
‘ My main experience was with older adults , but I also worked with women and on the rehabilitation ward . It was working as a technical instructor on the older adult unit that helped me to decide to become an occupational therapist .’
Madeleine was running breakfast , music and script reading groups . She was also able to attend ward rounds and it was ‘ a kind and knowledgeable ’ doctor on the multidisciplinary team who advised Madeleine to think about joining the profession .
Supporting life-changing experiences
Alongside training to become an occupational therapist at Coventry University , Madeleine ’ s Alternative Voices projects have been helping support people to have roles in theatrical shows that they perhaps would not have otherwise been able to have .
She says : ‘ One company member described the experience of taking part in our show Blank Canvas , at The Birmingham Hippodrome in 2018 , to have “ changed him as a person ”. The show enabled the actors to examine their own personal experiences of being bullied and allowed them to have open discussions with audiences about what that felt like for them .’
Madeleine ’ s radio play began life as a piece of coursework for her master ’ s degree . ‘ One of the
We had an all-autistic cast and around 800 listeners . Listeners who were on the spectrum said it made them feel seen and understood . Listeners who were not on the spectrum said that it helped them to feel connected and it taught them things about being on the spectrum that they did not otherwise know .”
modules was called “ Media , form and genre ”, and the challenge was to write a script in a medium you would not usually write in ,’ she explains .
‘ There was a session with my partnership company , Open Theatre Company Coventry and Birmingham , in 2018 , where we discussed as artists what we wanted to create next . I talked about my radio play and the company director asked me how it ended .
‘ At the time I did not know , as it was only 10 pages long . From there , it developed into a full script and I was supported by Stephanie Dale to shape the dialogue . I was further supported by Peter Leslie Wilde – the writer of The Archers – to help bring the play to life in the recording studio .
‘ We had an all-autistic cast and around 800 listeners . Listeners who were on the spectrum said it made them feel seen and understood . Listeners who were not on the spectrum said that it helped them to feel connected and it taught them things about being on the spectrum that they did not otherwise know .’
The book Madeleine has now published is an extension of her work and hopes to both support people who are living with Asperger ’ s Syndrome and educate other people about the condition .
‘ My book is all about surviving the education system with Asperger ’ s ’, she reflects . ‘ It began as a series of blogs on the Birmingham University mental health intranet section . The blogs covered different topics each week , from sensory sensitivity to making friends . I hope that parents , teachers , carers and health professionals , such as occupational therapists , psychologists , speech and language therapists
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February 2022 OTnews 35