Neurodivergence Summit

Anne is the Nurse Consultant with the Trustwide Autism Service and a dedicated registered learning disabilities nurse with over 25 years of experience. Throughout her career, Anne has worked alongside autistic people across health, education, and social care settings, championing person-centred approaches and meaningful support.

Her expertise spans specialist interventions, diagnostic assessments, post-diagnostic support, and delivering impactful training for professionals and families alike. Anne is known for her compassionate practice, deep knowledge, and commitment to improving services for autistic people at every stage of life.

Hayley Hawksby is a Nurse Consultant working across prison environments within Health and Justice services at Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust. A registered mental health nurse, Hayley brings a wealth of experience from roles in community adult services, secure inpatient care, and across the wider health and justice system.

Deeply passionate about delivering high-quality, compassionate care, Hayley is committed to keeping patients, and their families and carers, at the heart of service delivery and improvement. She is equally driven by a desire to inspire and empower the next generation of nurses, championing innovation, excellence, and the evolving role of nursing within complex care environments.

Jody Buxton is a Registered Learning Disabilities Nurse (RNLD) with a specialist focus on secure inpatient services. With a career spanning Medium, Low, and rehabilitation secure settings, Jody has held a variety of roles, from staff nurse to clinical lead, ward manager, and now Modern Matron.

For over 15 years, Jody has been dedicated to supporting autistic adult males who have come into contact with the criminal justice system. She is a passionate advocate for accessible, autism-specific care and treatment, ensuring services are reasonably adjusted to meet the unique needs of both service users and their carers.

Jody is equally committed to developing staff confidence and capability, bridging the gap between theory and practice, and embedding evidence-based approaches and national guidance into everyday care. His work is rooted in compassion, clinical excellence, and a drive to improve outcomes for those in secure care.

Michael Blakey is a Specialist Clinical Lead and registered Learning Disability Nurse with over 25 years of experience at Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust (CNTW). He currently leads the Northumbria Liaison and Diversion service and holds operational management responsibility for the Northumbria Mental Health Treatment Requirement Service.

Michael began his career in inpatient autism services before moving into secure inpatient learning disability care. His professional journey has been shaped by a deep commitment to supporting neurodivergent individuals within the health and justice systems. He is passionate about developing inclusive, person-centred services that recognise and respond to the diverse needs of neurodivergent people across all settings.

Jessica Stephenson is the Specialist Speech and Language Therapist at HMP Northumberland, where she plays a key role in supporting neurodivergent individuals and developing accessible communication support across the prison environment.

Originally from the U.S., Jess completed her Bachelor of Science in Communication Sciences and Disorders at the University of Arkansas, where her honours thesis explored the need for speech-language pathologists in juvenile detention centres. She went on to earn her Master’s in Speech and Language Pathology, continuing this research with a thesis on speech-language pathologists’ perceptions of language and literacy support for children in the juvenile justice system.

Since joining the Health and Justice team at TEWV in 2021, Jess has worked across multiple secure settings, including HMP Low Newton, where she scoped the need for SLT input within the Primrose service, and HMP Hull and HMP Humber, where she gained clinical and leadership experience, particularly within the Wellbeing Unit.

Jess now works closely with the Neurodiversity Support Manager to ensure speech and language services are inclusive, proactive, and embedded within wider support for neurodivergent individuals in custody.