Dr. Lesley Deacon

Biography

I am a Senior Lecturer in Social Work, Vice Chancellor's Research and Knowledge Exchange Fellow, Senior Fellow AdvanceHE, and a registered Social Worker (Social Work England). I describe myself as a neurodivergent, academic-based practitioner researcher. My areas of interest are neurodiversity and practice research. I have developed a new approach to empower practitioners (across a range of professions) to engage in, and lead, practice research – Facilitated Practice-based Research (copyright University of Sunderland) (FPR). This model is neurodiverse and trauma-informed and consists of an intensive, facilitated, research programme in which a group of practitioners works together to co-design, co-construct and co-implement a piece of practice research relevant to current practice issues. Research findings are then implemented into practice and monitored for impact. It is linked to the module SWKM43 Reflexive Practice Research. As a neurodivergent person, I combine my lived experience with research into creating spaces that are neurodiverse ie open and accessible, acknowledging all neurological diversit

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