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Jo Matthews is a registered mental health nurse (RMN) with a BA (Hons) in Psychology. Over the last 25 years, Jo has been on a personal journey of self-discovery while also being drawn towards supporting others in their search for answers. During the early days of her Psychology degree, Jo worked with adults with neurological conditions and acquired brain injuries. She later shifted her focus to support underprivileged and traumatised children in various settings across different countries, including India, America, France, and Wales.

Jo has worked within the Neurodevelopmental team for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS). In this role, she completed developmental histories with families and children/young people, attended medication reviews, and delivered online information groups to parents. 

After qualifying as a Mental Health Nurse a decade ago, she has dedicated significant time to support and advocate for clients and their families in the neurodivergent community. She has worked in various settings, including substance misuse and homeless services, community learning disability teams, forensic healthcare, and community mental health teams.

Currently, Jo works for the NHS as part of a neurodevelopmental assessment team, providing pre-assessment support to clients and their families and conducting Autism assessments with mainly young people. She also offers post-diagnostic, time-limited work with clients requiring advocacy and support in developing Autism passports and navigating health, housing, and social care services.

In her current role, she is involved in facilitating the ADOS face-to-face assessment and completing developmental histories through reference to the Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised (ADI-R) with children/young people and their families. Assessment decisions are made in line with the DSM V criteria.

Jo is a strong advocate for early diagnosis to identify strengths and reframe challenges as "differences" that may or may not require reasonable adjustments. Her goal is to promote greater understanding and acceptance of neurodivergent individuals within the neurotypical world.