LOLA MABEN-MEAD

Key Responsibilities at the Centre for ADHD and Autism Support (CAAS):

• Support secondary schools across North-West London, assisting ADHD and autistic students, their families, staff, and the broader school community.
• Deliver one-to-one and group sessions for neurodivergent students, helping them understand their diagnoses, and promoting their wellbeing and self-esteem.
• Co-facilitate person-centred youth courses and social groups both at the CAAS Centre and within school communities.
• Co-facilitate six-week evening courses for parents focused on 'Understanding ADHD.'
• Faciliate parent drop-in sessions at the CAAS Centre, and in school settings.ings.
• Conduct training and workshops for professionals and parents on ADHD and Autism, neuro-affirmative language, and student experiences in schools.
• Foster trusting relationships with young people, ensuring they feel heard, advocated for, and supported in all aspects of their lives.
• Guide parents in understanding and supporting their neurodivergent children, addressing educational and social matters.
• Participate in regular training and supervision workshops to enhance service-user support.
• Collaborate as part of a multidisciplinary team to ensure the safety and support of young people and their families, attending Child in Need, Child Protection, and safeguarding meetings in schools.
• Raising safeguarding concerns with Multi agency Safeguarding Hubs when necessary.
• Work cooperatively with classroom teachers to incorporate reasonable adjustments for students as needed, through observations, and staff drop-ins.
• Work closely with SENCos to recommend strategies, best practice, and areas for training within their schools.

Promoted to Key Stage 4 Wellbeing Tutor, responsible for:

• Acting as a primary contact for high-level student escalations, employing a range of behavioural strategies to support de-escalation and emotional regulation.
• Leading behaviour interventions for the KS4 cohort, addressing barriers to learning and managing behaviours that challenge.
• Conducting 1:1 mentoring sessions to promote student development.
• Teaching wellbeing lessons to small groups, enhancing emotional literacy, self-regulation, and self-awareness.
• Facilitating the Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) process, developing Individual Pupil Risk Assessments, and creating tailored behaviour systems.
• Collaborating with parents and professionals, including Educational Psychologists, Child Psychotherapists, and Occupational Therapists, to support student needs.
• Working alongside the Safeguarding team to support high-risk students, ensuring their safety and wellbeing.
• Delivering training on co-occurring conditions in autism to the staff, providing child-centred support for OCD, and PDA. Delivered training and led on ADHD practice for the school.

Initially engaged through PROTOCOL Education Agency, transitioned to direct employment with the school in January 2021.

I supported Key Stage 3, 4, and 5 students with a diagnosis of Autism, adapting to varying abilities and needs. Key responsibilities include:

• Implementing behaviour systems tailored to individual student needs.
• Assisting with learning across a variety of core, and optional subjects in the classroom.
• Supporting off-site community trips to enhance experiential learning.
• Conducting one-on-one interventions to support personalised goals.
• Supporting the Education, Health, and Care Plan (EHCP) process to ensure effective support is in place.
• Taking the lead in lessons when required, fostering an inclusive learning environment.
• Providing emotional support, and modelling positive behaviour to encourage student wellbeing.
• Supporting high-risk pupils with behaviours that challenge, through proactive strategies.

I was a PA for a teenage boy with diagnoses of autism, OCD, and anxiety. Key responsibilities included:

• Accompanying him to preferred community locations, promoting social interaction, and engagement.
• Building a trusting relationship that facilitated effective communication and emotional well-being.
• Offering respite to his parents and siblings, contributing to a more balanced family dynamic.

Provided occasional support for a family with twins (now 5 years old) since they were 12 months old, offering respite care to enable their parents to work. Responsibilities included supervising play, ensuring safety, creating a stimulating environment, taking walks in the park, preparing snacks, and performing infant care tasks such as changing nappies and bottle feeding, with particular attention to one child’s recent autism diagnosis.

Volunteered as an autism mentor with Advonet, an advocacy charity, during my second year of university. Mentored autistic individuals through weekly one-to-one sessions, assisting them in researching and joining social groups, and gaining employment and volunteer experience.

Participated in a six-week online mentoring scheme with secondary school students in Essex as part of the 'Make Happen' project. Provided weekly 1:1 support and guidance to Year 9 and 10 students, assisting them with their educational pathways.

Kith and Kids is a charity that has positively impacted my autistic sibling's life. In 2016, I volunteered during a Christmas holiday scheme, supporting individuals with autism and learning disabilities to overcome social isolation. My role involved assisting in 2:1 daily activities with a young person, including providing personal care.