Kelly
Given
Columnist, Media Personality
Politics and Law
I was late diagnosed autistic and ADHD at the age of 23 following a 13-year battle with services and five misdiagnoses which had really difficult consequences. I have dedicated my life since to fighting for neurodivergent rights and challenging misconceptions around disability.
I annually represent UN Women UK at the UN Commission on the Status of Women and graduated last year from an international internship working on the UN sustainable development goals. Last year, I attended a UNSDG innovation lab in New York where I wrote a policy solution on misdiagnosis in women and girls and presented it to the UN General Assembly. From consulting on UN policy to working on mass vaccination, I have been unrelenting in my devotion to influence structural change.
In my full-time job, I work in the autism sector. I was previously the chair of the disabled employee network at NHS Lothian where I worked on re-writing mandatory equality and diversity training for NHS staff, the roll out of free period products and rewrote the reasonable adjustments policy to better cater for the disabled NHS workforce. Last year I was a finalist on popular channel 4 reality TV series Make me prime minister where I documented my difficulties as an autistic person and campaigned on a number of radical social justice platforms. I also filmed a documentary with the Royal Holloway University of London on living with disability during Covid, am a regular panellist on current affairs programme BBC Seven Days and have my own national weekly column where I often write about disability issues.
“Despite what society tells us, being autistic is a beautiful experience full of joy and the best of what life has to offer. Being diagnosed, and identifying as disabled, changed my whole life and opened up a whole new world of possibilities for me to live fully in my truth.”
Disability Power 100 2023 profile information has been self-submitted by the profile subject. Shaw Trust understands and respects that disability and impairment descriptors and language use varies from person to person. Shaw Trust assumes no responsibility or liability for any errors or discrepancies in the content of this, or any other, profile page.
Image credits: The National Newspaper
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