March 2025 Wellbeing Hub Talk: Mel Green & Dr Claire Malcolm – Black mothers advocating for their autistic children

Mel and Claire will introduce their upcoming book and research study: Overview of Mothering at the Margins: Black Mothers Raising Autistic Children in the UK, the inspiration behind the project and the design of the research study.

Content will include:

Intersectionality in Action:  race, gender, and disability intersect in the lives of Black mothers advocating for their autistic children. Systemic challenges: Discussion of barriers Black mothers face, including navigating education systems, accessing health and social care, and overcoming societal biases.

A celebration: Celebrating the strength, strategies, and community support systems developed by Black mothers.

Call to Action: Encouraging more inclusive policies and practices to support Black neurodiverse families.

Biography

Mel Green is a former primary school teacher with experience teaching in state schools, specialist provisions and psychiatric units. As a Lecturer in Education Studies and an EdD researcher at the Open University, she explores the intersections of professional and personal identities in teaching. Mel’s work focuses on the complexities of identity, educational inequities, inclusion, and anti-racist practices in education.

Dr. Claire Malcolm is a Lecturer in Politics and International Relations at the Open University. She earned her PhD from Cardiff University and specialises in equity, diversity, and inclusion. Claire’s work includes research for UN Women and the Welsh Assembly Government.

Mel and Claire create and deliver training in the implementation of anti-racist practice in higher education to various universities and have co-authored the Frontiers of Sociology article ‘Degrees of Change: The Promise of anti-racist assessment’.

Both Mel and Claire are mothers to two autistic children (one diagnosed, and one awaiting assessment), meaning they both hold a personal and a professional interest in issues relating to neurodiversity and special educational needs (SEN) provision.

At the end of last year, they are submitted the first full draft of a book titled ‘Mothering at the Margins’: Black Mothers Raising Autistic Children to their publishers at Lived Place Publishing. This book is due for publication in early 2025.