The founder and CEO of Action for Neurodiversity is Elaine Nicholson, MBE.
Elaine’s Story
After the discovery of Asperger’s syndrome featuring in her own family, Elaine decided to formalise her familial knowledge. In November 2010 she attained a PGC in Asperger’s syndrome from Sheffield Hallam University, and thereafter went on to achieve a master’s degree in autism from the same university. Her Master’s subject was entitled ‘a bespoke model of counselling for lives that have become adversely affected by the experience of Asperger’s syndrome’. From this master’s degree, she created a bespoke model of working with autistic lives. Elaine frequently speaks UK-wide about ‘what works when counselling autistic lives?’. She also presented her talk in person in November 2019 at The World Autism Congress in Houston, USA. She has trained manifold NHS and private counselling and psychotherapy professionals alike.
Elaine is a BACP counsellor who has additionally completed six years of body psychotherapy study through Cambridge Body Psychotherapy Centre. She is now in the throes of completing her dissertation pieces and is registered as a trainee body psychotherapist with the UKCP. In addition to working for Action for Neurodiversity, Elaine also has her own private autism-specialist counselling practice and body-psychotherapy practice. In addition to body psychotherapy being a string to her bow, Elaine has also completed numerous additional Continuing Personal Development (CPD) courses over the past twenty years, including EMDR, CBT, ACT, and Hypno-psychotherapy, to mention a few. Elaine is particularly fond of Buddhist-based mindfulness and philosophy.
Elaine has thousands of hours of counselling autistic lives under her belt. She is also ADOS-2 trained through Pearson Assessment under the tutelage of Dr. Fiona Scott (September 2014) and has acted as a second professional for ADOS and ADI-R assessments for many years. Elaine works closely with psychologist colleagues doing diagnostic assessments.
In Elaine’s pre-counselling working life, she worked for many years as a medical manager in doctors’ surgeries and health centres. She was also a freelance writer for magazines such as GP, Pulse, and Practice Manager on practice management-related subjects. Nowadays, she writes for several magazines, including BACP Healthcare magazine, Autism Eye and SEN magazine, on all things autism related.
Elaine believes that her best qualification in the field of autism specialist counselling is her personal and familial experience. Elaine’s clients have reported that she ‘gets it’ from both sides.
Elaine created a “world first” in Action for Neurodiversity (formerly Action for Asperger’s), a charity/organisation that exclusively counsels lives affected by Asperger’s syndrome and autism by using a proven and highly sensitive, empathic and congruent counselling approach. It should be pointed out also that there remain numerous individuals who refer to themselves as having Asperger’s syndrome. As many of you will know, the term Asperger’s was usurped by the term Autism Spectrum Disorder – Level One in 2013*. This is because, for many, receiving that diagnosis of Asperger’s answered so many questions. Whatever term of reference an individual uses to describe themselves, Elaine and her team are trained to see things from a humanistic perspective, not a medical model. Together, they are a rich source of expertise.
From 20 clients (seen in Elaine’s sitting room in 2012), seventeen years later, the charity is 9,000+ clients strong, and has a worldwide appeal thanks to video technology. Elaine pioneered video counselling, determined to reach those shy autistics who daren’t venture out of their homes.
In the Queen’s Birthday Honours published in June 2016, Elaine was made an MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire) by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth for services to Education and Asperger’s Syndrome. This was a very proud moment for Elaine, and it was completely unexpected. Elaine said, “I was particularly pleased as this was the first Queen’s honour to be awarded for Asperger’s syndrome specifically; moreover, the award gave the staunch Asperger’s community some recognition, which was important, bearing in mind the removal of the diagnostic label of Asperger’s” (as mentioned above). Elaine was also made a ‘Point of Light’ by the then prime minister, the Rt Hon David Cameron, in June 2016.
In 2022, Elaine came up with the idea of a dating and friendship app called Autistic Empathy. This is a global app that has been developed through a counsellor’s mind’s eye. Members have to be verified within a short time frame. It has been created with safety in mind, and within the app, there are specialist clubs autistic individuals may join, such as a maths club or a “Dr Who” club; indeed, there are numerous clubs based on popular ‘special interests’. It is unique in that it truly cares about those who join.
Elaine remains dedicated to the charity she founded, to which she continues to devote her time on a voluntary basis. She continues to receive plaudits for her remarkable contribution to the field of counselling therapy and neurodivergence.
Elaine (centre) pictured with ‘Stavros Flatley’ who were helping to raise funds for Action for Asperger’s in June, 2011.