UMA (created by leanne butler)
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A Resource I Wish Had Existed Years Ago: Uma
As many of you know, I received my autism and ADHD diagnoses very late in life.
Like countless neurodivergent women, I spent years trying to understand myself while navigating misdiagnoses, misconceptions, and a healthcare system that often struggles to recognise how autism and ADHD present in women and girls.
Alongside autism and ADHD, I also live with Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS), POTS and MCAS/histamine issues. It took years of personal research and self-advocacy before I was able to access the referrals and support I needed.
That is why I am excited to share Uma, a new screening and self-discovery platform created by Leanne Butler and the team at We Are More Human.
Uma has been designed specifically with late-discovered neurodivergent women and minority genders in mind. The platform offers comprehensive screening for autism, ADHD, C-PTSD and other mental and physical health conditions that frequently co-occur alongside neurodivergence.
What makes Uma particularly interesting is that it does more than simply ask a few questions and generate a score. It helps users explore patterns across their experiences and produces a detailed report that can be downloaded, kept for personal reflection, or shared with healthcare professionals as part of further conversations and assessments.
For many people, the journey towards understanding themselves begins long before formal diagnosis. In a climate where assessment pathways are becoming increasingly difficult to access and waiting lists continue to grow, tools that support informed self-exploration have never been more important.
I want to be clear that no screening tool can diagnose autism, ADHD or any other condition. However, well-designed screening tools can help people recognise patterns, ask informed questions, and make sense of experiences that may previously have felt confusing or disconnected.
As someone who spent decades searching for answers, I can see how a resource like Uma might have helped me join the dots much earlier.
Most importantly, I believe that self-identification and self-understanding matter. Many neurodivergent people spend years researching, reflecting and learning about themselves before they ever have access to a formal assessment. That process of discovery is valid and valuable.
If you are exploring whether you may be autistic, ADHD, experiencing C-PTSD, or navigating related health conditions, Uma may be a useful place to start.
Learn more at: We Are More Human
#StopMakingWomenWait
the curious incident of the dog in the night-time
I had a wonderful evening last night at The Birmingham Rep watching a performance of the new production of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time. The entire cast delivered a moving and memorable performance. Their energy and versatility blew me away. Ned Bennett’s phenomenal staging of the play with moving scenery based on simple shapes that are repurposed, along with projections and cascading props helped to create a truly embodied portrayal of the main character’s experiences. I worked with the team on an authentic presentation of a neurodivergent character, and the script changes and delivery are testament to Ned’s commitment to getting it right. If you have seen the original version, you need to see this. It is a different experience altogether and adds breadth to the way in which neurodivergence has been presented on stage. The play is also brought up-to-date, and being set in 2026 has addressed some of the outmoded ideas about neurodivergence.
I have to give a big shout out to Alex Keenan whose portrayal of Chris Boone was stunningly emotive. Using her lived experience as an openly neurodivergent actor, Alex brought the audience along with her so that we not only engaged with the character of Chris, but inhabited her world. The delivery was a brilliant mix of humour and devastation, of intelligence, passion, distress and withdrawal. This is a rounded neurodivergent character and as such helps to change hearts and mindsets. Audience reaction was hugely positive, with standing ovations at the end. Conversations about differences in brains and presentations were had and early reviews show that the critics got it. I am so privileged to have been involved in this project. Thank you Ned for having the courage to move the production on and to give audiences a new experience of neurodivergent representation.
See the link below to get your tickets at a venue near you.
CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT-TIME
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time is back! This time the stage show has an autistic female main character. If you saw it first time round then be prepared for changes and a whole new way of seeing and feeling the lived experiences of an autistic person.
Ned Bennett, the director worked fastidiously to make sure that, along with an openly neurodivergent actor, the script and dramatization reflected a wider representation of autistic lived experiences. I was privileged to be asked to be a consultant for the production. Opening at Birmingham Rep, the show is then heading off for a major UK tour. Catch it somewhere near you.
Read the interview with Alex Keenan, the actor playing a female version of the autistic protagonist. here.
