Sarah O'Brien

@sarahobrien.bsky.social

👩🏼‍🏫 autism trainer across North Central London 🎓 inclusive public involvement PhD @kcl.ac.uk 📚 So, I'm Autistic out now she/her - autistic and disabled generally funny, views + typos own @SarahMarieOB on Twitter

Simply having one of those days where things are hard and I'm repeatedly told that I'm rubbish at inclusive practice, which is a hard one to sit with when I know all the effort I put in to try to make things inclusive and accessible despite exclusionary, often immovable systems.

Accidentally forgot to take my POTS meds yesterday so I ended up accidentally fainting today, which serves as a useful barometer of 48 hours between meds means a complete return to business as (unmedicated) usual. My life revolves around silly heart-shaped tablets.

The rhetoric around welfare benefits and social security being handouts was and will always be incredibly dangerous and downright insidious. Supporting all members of society is never a handout, it’s a safety net, a social contract of support for all.

Watching someone pick their nose, look at their find and then wrap their hand around the train’s grab rail on this morning’s commute pretty much sums it up. It’s the lesson that just keeps giving, don’t trust other peoples hygiene 🥲

Unexpected barrier to accessible and inclusive recruitment? Application and recruitment platforms simply do not allocate enough storage space for Easy Read job information, and NHS cloud storage is restrictive, so we have to find a workaround.

Celebrating Neurodiversity Celebration week with not just one but two migraines from working less accessible than ideal work environments certainly feels like some sort of message to be decoded.

LinkedIn is such an odd place, a role I was rejected from (applied in Aug '24) is now recruiting again, so either it was a lucky escape/bad role and it's a terrible place to work or whomever they hired instead of me wasn't a good fit. Either way, a great escape.

One of my ‘auras’ of an incoming shutdown is a drip that starts from my nose, almost as if my body thinks I need to cry with the impending level of overwhelm but it’s so confused that instead of tears it’s just a drip elsewhere in the ENT cavity.

I got woken up in the night recently by something/someone breathing on my neck, which was a worry as my husband was working in central Europe at the time. Turn around, and it turned out Monty, my not very petite golden retriever, had snuggled his way onto my pillow and we were now sharing.

One thing I’d overlooked about delivering autism and learning disability training across health and social care was just how much I’d be defending my right to define and view myself in ways that don’t make me want to kill myself or see myself as a burden or packed with deficits! Fun really! 🫠

Is there potential for inefficiency in NHS England? I mean of course but so can any organisation. Is it fair to drop this news publicly without due consideration to staff? Absolutely not. Either way, join a union.

My Outlook app updated which means there has been a minor change to the display of my calendar, just something to process the change of for the next 3-5 business days. UI changes always throw me, whether it be a tiny shift or a monumental change, most of the time completely unnecesary.

I think some people hear “grants” and think that without them, scientists and government workers just have less stuff to play with at work. But grants fund salaries for students, academics, researchers, and people who work in all areas of public service. “Pausing” grants means people don’t eat.

White House pauses all federal grants, sparking confusion

The Trump administration has put a hold on all federal financial grants and loans, affecting tens of billions of dollars in payments.

washingtonpost.com

An early birthday present from PLR letting me know that a whopping (to me) 515 people borrowed So, I'm Autistic from their local library in its first year of publication. That's huge, sometimes I forget I've written something people might actually see, read or care about.

Incredibly silly thing, but I wear glasses everyday and have done for nearly 28 years. With a more stable income post-PhD stipend I’ve got my first eye test in over three years hat I’ll be able to afford new glasses from. I’ll finally have new frames.

Accidentally ended up with a sinus infection after catching a cold and I’m hoping my immune system will choose to be a bit more of an active participant in my life than my last experience of sinusitis that lasted a horrendous 14 weeks

In terms of levels of tired I’m currently experiencing I managed to get on a train that goes to my station BUT I accidentally got on the slow train because I read the platforms wrong. So that’s 20 more minutes of bright fluorescent lights than needed 🥲 I’ll get home but at what cost

I might have accidentally reinvented myself without even realising. Apparently I seem like an extrovert and nothing like a shrinking violet or wallflower. Which goes against what I’d thought others thought of my little autistic and awkward self.