Neurodiversity specialists Creased Puddle are excited and proud to announce their partnership with former England, Arsenal, and Liverpool footballer Jermaine Pennant to highlight the challenges and barriers neurodivergent footballers and sportspeople face
Jermaine, who has been diagnosed as ADHD, will be working alongside Creased Puddle’s Founder and CEO Caroline Turner during Neurodiversity Celebration Week (18-24 March). They have teamed up to deliver a free webinar on Neurodiversity in Football on Tuesday the 19th March at 10am with tickets available through Eventbrite.
The webinar will explore ADHD in football and will explore the prevalence of neurodiversity in sports, the skill sets it brings and the challenges neurodivergent footballers might encounter.
Jermaine, who began his career at Notts County before moving to Arsenal in 1999 as a schoolchild for a record £2M, had a troubled childhood and on and off the field controversies. In April 2022 he was diagnosed with ADHD and now spends much of his time advocating for better understanding of neurodiversity and mental health.
Jermaine said: “Now I have my diagnoses it’s made me understand why I behaved in certain ways in the past. Unfortunately, at the time I was playing professional football, there was very little awareness of ADHD, particularly in adults, which meant my behaviour played out in the media as me being a bad person. Although awareness of neurodiversity in sport is better, there still a long way to go to remove stigma and barriers and create an environment where footballers and other sportspeople feel comfortable enough to disclose their diagnoses or ask for help. This webinar along with my other work will hopefully start some of those discussions.”
Caroline added: “We are really grateful to Jermaine for agreeing to work with us as part of Neurodiversity Celebration Week. It is such an important conversation to have. Sport can be an outlet for people who are struggling at school or in their personal lives, so it is essential that there is proper awareness and understanding of neurodiversity and how it can impact individuals playing grassroots and elite sports. Professional footballers have a platform to help change attitudes about neurodiversity and make football the leading sport in welcoming and celebrating neurodivergent players.”
Sign up for the webinar via this link: Neurodiversity in Football Tickets, Tue 19 Mar 2024 at 10:00 | Eventbrite
About:
Creased Puddle is a Neurodiversity Training and Consultancy based in York, North Yorkshire and servicing the whole of the UK and beyond. With a predominately neurodivergent workforce they also provide Workplace Needs Assessments, Coaching and diagnostic assessments.
Since 2018 Creased Puddle has worked closely with organisations and individuals to enhance understanding, empower decision makers, and identify opportunities for inclusion for neurodivergent staff, parents and customers. They also have a specialist Criminal Justice team of former Officers and staff providing bespoke services for Policing across the globe. Creased Puddle
The webinar is free to attend and tickets are available through Eventbrite via the link – Neurodiversity in Football Webinar with Creased Puddle and Jermaine Pennant