Moving accessibility from debt to done at giffgaff
How accessibility became part of everyday engineering, improving inclusion and business impact without slowing delivery.
Talks
Talks I’ve given. Each one has a full, checked transcript. Where I still have the slides, the transcript describes them too.
We do the hard work: accessibility
How we rebuilt giffgaff’s phones range page with accessibility from day one, what changed for screen reader users, and why it took no extra time.
Accessibility Culture Day welcome
The opening talk for giffgaff’s Accessibility Culture Day: the types of disability, who benefits from accessibility, the Purple Pound, and the plan for the day.
Accessibility and Meta Tags
The meta tags every website needs, from descriptions to social media previews, and the basics of building an accessible website, from semantic HTML and alt text to colour contrast.
A11y Series: Buttons
How to build buttons that work for everyone, from button text and labels to tap target sizes and focus styles, and why disabled buttons cause problems.
Other talks
There’s no recording of these to share, so they don’t have their own pages. Where I still have my script or slides, you can read them. Most are neurodiversity monthly chats I run at giffgaff. Each one starts with a 10 to 15 minute talk from me, with no slides, followed by 45 minutes of safe space discussion.
Adjustments and reasonable accommodations
Adjustments at work, and support outside it, such as Access to Work, Personal Independence Payment and disability cards, with Eleni from our People Team answering questions.
AI
Where AI helps neurodivergent people, where it falls short, and what to question when it’s called an accessibility tool, with a demo of Naz’s AI productivity game.
Special interests
What special interests are, why they matter so much to neurodivergent people, how they’re often dismissed, and how to respond well to them.
Early versus late diagnosis
The differences between being diagnosed as neurodivergent early or later in life, in the support people get and how they see themselves.
Tourette’s syndrome
For Tourette’s Awareness Month: what Tourette’s syndrome is beyond the stereotypes, what tics and the urges behind them feel like, and how to support people who tic.
Interoception and proprioception
Interoception and proprioception, the hidden senses for what’s happening inside your body and where it is, how they work differently for neurodivergent people, and how to support them.
Shared success
A celebration of neurodivergent strengths, such as hyper-focus, creative thinking, attention to detail and directness, and why neurodivergent role models matter.
Sharing your neurotype
The pros and cons of sharing that you’re neurodivergent at work, how to have that conversation, and how to respond when a colleague shares with you.
Let’s Talk About Anxiety
What anxiety is and how it shows up, including for neurodivergent people, with lived experience and where to get support. I ran it with George, who gave half of the talk.
Travel
Why travel takes so much energy for neurodivergent people, and ideas to make it easier before and during a journey, from Street View to the Sunflower Lanyard.
Events
Ideas for a stress-free time before, during and after events, covering presents, shopping, crowds, and lists and organisation.
ADHD
What ADHD is, its 3 types, how it affects daily life, and the myths about it, with Melissa sharing her experience of having ADHD.
OCD: Not just even numbers and organisation
What obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) really is, beyond the stereotypes, how it’s diagnosed and treated, and why the way we talk about it matters.
Body doubling
A monthly session where we each get something done that we’ve been putting off, together. It started with extra sessions for ADHD Awareness Month in October 2025.
Families
What life is like in a family with neurodivergent members: communication, routines, the strengths these families share, and what helps or harms family relationships.
Sensory processing and stimming
What sensory processing disorder and stimming are, how they affect neurodivergent people, the support that helps, and how stimming differs from OCD.
Masking
What masking is, how it affects neurodivergent people, and how to help everyone feel safe to unmask.
Imposter syndrome and neurodiversity
How imposter syndrome and neurodivergence feed each other, from masking and uneven skills to doubting a diagnosis. I ran it with James.
Autism and gender
For Autistic Pride Day: what autism is, why it’s diagnosed less often in women and girls, and how it can show up differently.