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Dan Frsa

Founder and CEO of Neurodiversity in Business charity - Award winning Neurodiversity Activist

Dan Harris FRSA is a prominent advocate for neurodiversity in the workplace and the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Neurodiversity in Business (NiB), a global charity established in April 2021.12 He is also a Director at Deloitte UK, where he has been part of the Risk Advisory team for over 21 years, leading a team of 23 professionals across Cambridge, St Albans, and Milton Keynes offices.2

Harris has a strong background in advising and auditing Blue-chip companies in the Financial Services sector, focusing on IT systems, data usage, and control environments.2 He holds an MSc in Information Systems from The London School of Economics and Political Science.1

In addition to his professional roles, Harris is a Volunteer Legal Supporter for disabled children's families.12 He is known for his passionate advocacy for increasing the participation of neurodivergent individuals in the workplace and often speaks on topics such as neuro inclusion and neurodiversity in business.1

Harris's advocacy work is partly inspired by personal experience, as he has an 18-year-old child who was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) at the age of four.4 This connection has driven his commitment to creating more inclusive workplaces and raising awareness about neurodiversity.

Recently, Harris has been invited to deliver a speech at a UN event, specifically at the Inclusive Education summit hosted by UNESCO at their global headquarters in Paris.3 This opportunity is part of his campaign called 'TheJoshieMan' to raise autism awareness.3

Under Harris's leadership, Neurodiversity in Business has become a significant forum for sharing industry best practices on neurodivergent recruitment, retention, and empowerment.35 The organization works with leading companies and neurodivergent experts to improve the employment experience of the neurodiverse workforce.5

Highlights

Aug 22 · linkedin

I cried more about this hateful comment than the pain of the actual tattoo yesterday 💔

So, if ever I needed a reason to re-double my efforts to #ChangeTheWorld then this is it! 💪

However, I need your help today (more than most days!):

♻️: Repost this to show society why we need change ✅ : Like this post to show that love always wins ✍️ : Comment with your views on her argument.

So let’s deconstruct Kym’s <<insightful, well thought-through, deeply analytical and well researched academic viewpoints >>:

😱 1: “Old enough to say the alphabet”

#TheJoshieMan is a 10 year old #NonSpeaking Autistic boy. His differences are life-long and do not magically disappear as he ages.

😱 2: “ADHD and Autism are just an excuse for poor parenting”

Both are clinically diagnosed medical conditions which have benefited from a plethora of research for nearly 100 years. I read extensively and never once have I seen poor parenting attributed as a factor.

😱 3: “Stop giving thick kids a label”

Actually, some of the brightest minds we have ever had have been #Autistic or #ADHD. There is a reason that these genes have persisted over thousands of years – they benefit our society on a macro level. #TJM is a smart cookie (just see my featured posts here).

😱 4: “Let’s go back to the days when they were locked up and happily forgotten about”

Yes, we did used to lock children with differences away in institutions and deny them a formal education. However the human population also did other disgusting things in its history and thankfully we evolve and mature. I cannot imagine any family forgetting about their cherished child.

😱 5: “They should never be in mainstream school”

I love the law and thankfully section 34(2) of the Children and Families Act (CFA) 2014 disagrees with you Kym.

😱 6: “Spastic and Dunces”

Usage of these abhorrent words says more about the person saying them than the intended target of hate.

😱 7: “Stopped the friendship immediately”

Whilst I previously have always shared my experiences on an anonymous basis (so as not to impact upon the ill-informed subject) on this occasion, Kym Clinton, you have chosen to post publicly on my post visible to the whole world and defame my amazing little Joshie-man.

💪Who is with us today? Is love stronger than hate?

#AutismEmpowement #NeuroInclusion #Neurodiversity

Image ID: See comments.

Aug 15 · linkedin

Remember this headline next time that you see a negative article about #Neurodiversity.

👍 : Like this post to highlight that we need to be investing in our kids. ♻ : Repost so that society can understand the bigger picture.

The #NDCommunity is seeing increasing attacks and misunderstanding from certain elements of the media.

This headline today is quite helpful as it betrays the true concern - a perception that disabled people are abusing government benefits.

The counter argument against a more #Neuroinclusive society often includes:

🚷 #ADHD just means 'lazy' 🚷 🚷 It's all too 'woke'🚷 🚷 We didn't have these people in my day🚷 🚷 Do they really need educated or are they better in institutions?🚷 🚷 We're all a bit #Autistic anyway 🚷

As we've seen today, actually, the driver these arguments could be summarised as:

💰 These kids might end up costing us too much if diagnosed 💰

Well, this is 100% wrong.

If your <<actual>> concern is the total economic cost of a #Neurodivergent person to the public purse, you know what.....

The most cost-effective route is to invest in our children very early on in their development cycle through:

  • early identification/screening
  • immediate and comprehensive support upon diagnosis
  • appropriate school placements

💪 Who is with me on this?

⁉ PS: Tell me in the comments: How does this kind of reporting making you feel and should we be investing in our kids or focussed on the benefits bill? Or I'd love to hear what are your favourite anti-ND headlines?

Image ID: A headline from a leading UK newspaper which reads "Record number of children on disability benefits after Autism and ADHD surge".

Related Questions

What inspired Dan Harris to start Neurodiversity in Business?
How has Dan Harris' work at Deloitte influenced his role at Neurodiversity in Business?
What are some key achievements of Neurodiversity in Business under Dan Harris' leadership?
How does Dan Harris balance his roles at Deloitte and Neurodiversity in Business?
What are the main goals of Neurodiversity in Business according to Dan Harris?
Dan Frsa
Dan Frsa, photo 1
Dan Frsa, photo 2
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Location

United Kingdom