The NEurodivergent peer Support Toolkit (NEST) is a set of free resources for staff in mainstream secondary schools who wish to facilitate peer support for neurodivergent young people. The toolkit was co-created by researchers at the University of Edinburgh, neurodivergent young people and a neurodiverse group of adults who work with neurodivergent young people. The project was funded by the Salvesen Mindroom Research Centre Scientific Advisory Board.

In this episode Katie Cebula and Catherine Crompton talk about how the NEST came about, what it involves and how it could support pupils in your school.

You can find out more and download the resources here: https://salvesen-research.ed.ac.uk/our-projects/nest-neurodivergent-peer-support-toolkit

This is the 7th podcast from the RE-STAR team and Professor Edmund Sonuga-Barke and Dr Georgia Pavlopoulou share the findings from work package one. This episode explores how the RE-STAR team has collected qualitative data through innovative methods that really allow the voices of young people with ADHD and Autism to be heard. They also share the findings about the upsetting experiences of young people with ADHD and Autism, what these experiences are (and if you are a teacher you might be surprised) and the intensity of those emotional experiences and as well as how these differ for neurotypical, ADHD and Autistic groups. The team is also considering the long term impact of this emotional burden on depression and anxiety.

If you would like to hear more from the RE-STAR team please do take a listen here: https://changingstatesofmind.com/re-star-project

If you would like to read the paper the link is: https://acamh.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jcv2.12287

A second paper is also available: https://osf.io/preprints/osf/dras7

Why do attention-deficit/hyperactive disorder and/or autism traits place adolescents at risk for depression? Protocol for a longitudinal comparison of the mediating role of deficits in emotional processing and control versus emotional burden

In this week’s episode Purvi (Vi) Gandhi shares her knowledge about implementing effective and evidence based strategies to improve mental health or mental fitness in schools.

Vi has recently published a book 'A little guide for teachers: Student Mental Health' with lots of ideas of how teachers can support the mental health and fitness of the young people in schools. In this interview we discuss the language we use around mental health, why mental health is so important in school and how we can support our pupils to thrive and much more.

If you would like to find out more about her book here is the link: uk.sagepub.com/en-gb/eur/author/purvi-gandhi

If you want to hear more podcasts on mental health from Psychology in the classroom here is the link: https://changingstatesofmind.com/mental-health-%26-wellbeing