By joining the WhatsApp group chat you agree to the following terms:
This section is a plain-English summary. The full terms below are what apply.
- The Bubble is a social group for neurodivergent adults. It is not therapy, assessment, diagnosis or a crisis service, even though the person running it is a registered Occupational Therapist.
- You don't need a diagnosis to join. You can join in as much or as little as you like, and you can take breaks, turn your camera off (if virtual) or step out at any time.
- Please keep what other people share private, and don't record or photograph anyone without permission.
- What you tell Alex is kept private, with a few safety exceptions (see section 11). The Provider keeps brief notes about each session for safety and insurance reasons (section 12).
- If you tell us you or someone else is at serious risk of harm, we may have to act, and we will try to talk to you first where it is safe to do so. For online sessions we need to know where you are joining from, so help can be sent if it's ever needed.
- Other participants are peers, not professionals. What they share is their own experience, not advice.
- The Bubble is a community project. Fees are intended to cover running costs (section 6). You can cancel or change a booking as set out in section 7. Your legal rights are never affected.
- If something goes wrong, you can complain (section 17).
1. About the group
The Bubble is a facilitated social group that gives neurodivergent adults a welcoming, supportive and inclusive space to connect with others, share experiences, and join discussions and activities.
Sessions may include informal conversation, themed discussions, crafting, board games, and signposting to relevant services.
Sessions may be held in person or online through a secure video platform (such as Zoom). You will always be told the format in advance.
2. Who is providing the group
In this agreement:
- "the Provider" means Alexandra Lawrence, an independent Occupational Therapist, HCPC-registered, trading as Navigate Neurodiversity Occupational Therapy as a sole trader. Contact: admin@navigateneurodiversityot.com
- The Bubble is a community-focused project run by the Provider, with fees intended to cover its costs.
- "you" and "the Participant" mean the person attending The Bubble.
- The Provider has a Personal Assistant (PA), an independent contractor, who helps with administration (see section 12). The PA does not attend or facilitate sessions.
3. What the group is, and what it is not
The Bubble is a facilitated social support group.
Taking part does not amount to therapy, counselling, medical treatment, assessment, diagnosis or crisis support. It is not a substitute for any of these. No therapy relationship is created unless separate OT services have been agreed in writing.
If you are also a 1:1 client of the Provider. The Bubble is separate from your 1:1 work. Joining is entirely optional and does not affect your 1:1 sessions. The Provider will not tell other participants that you are (or are not) a client. The Provider keeps brief notes about each Bubble session (see section 12). These are kept in your 1:1 clinical notes. Your 1:1 sessions are covered by the separate OT terms and conditions.
You are never required to book 1:1 OT services or other paid services because you attend The Bubble.
The Bubble is not an emergency or crisis service and is not monitored outside session times. If you are in immediate danger, call 999. For urgent mental health support you can contact NHS 111 (or your local crisis service) or Samaritans on 116 123 (free, 24 hours).
4. Who the group is for
The Bubble is for adults aged 18 or over who identify as neurodivergent, living in the United Kingdom or the Channel Islands. Neurodivergent identity is self-defined. You do not need a diagnosis or any evidence.
The Provider may decide whether the group is a good fit for you at this time. It may not be suitable if you are in an acute mental health crisis or your needs would be better met by a specialist service. If you are currently in crisis, or have recently attempted suicide, please tell the Provider before booking, so she can talk with you about what support would be most helpful. If the Provider thinks the group is not right for you at this time, she will explain why.
5. Access, sensory needs and communication
The Bubble aims to be accessible and neuroaffirming. You do not need to explain, justify or disclose a diagnosis to ask for something that helps. For example, you can:
- keep your camera or microphone off, or use the chat instead of speaking (online sessions);
- stim, fidget, doodle, wear headphones or sunglasses, or move around;
- take a break, step out or leave early without explaining;
- ask for information in advance (venue, agenda, who will be there).
Please tell the Provider about any access or sensory needs before a session, or at any time, so reasonable adjustments can be considered. The Provider will make reasonable adjustments where she can and will tell you honestly if something isn't possible.
6. Booking, fees and payment
Booking. A place is confirmed when the Provider confirms your booking in writing (email or message).
Fees. Current fees are published at www.navigateneurodiversityot.com/social-group-booking. Fees may differ for online and in-person sessions. The fee that applies is the one published when you book.
What fees are for. Fees are set to cover the costs of running the group, such as room hire, software and administration, insurance and materials. The Bubble is a community project.
Changes to fees. The Provider may change fees. Changes apply only to bookings made after the change and will be published on the website before they take effect.
Payment. Payment is by bank transfer before the session or cash on the day (in-person sessions only). Bank transfer is preferable. If you have not paid in advance, payment must be made before you take part. A receipt is available on request.
7. Cancellations, changes and refunds
If you cancel. Please tell the Provider as early as you can. Room hire and other costs are often committed in advance, which is why notice matters.
- If you cancel at least [24 hours] before a session, you will not be charged, or if you have paid, you may choose a refund or a transfer to a later session.
- If you have booked but not paid and you do not attend, no charge applies, but the Provider may ask for payment in advance for future bookings.
- Late arrival may mean you can't join if it would significantly disrupt the group. If the Provider has to refuse entry for this reason, the fee will be transferred or refunded.
If the Provider cancels or changes a session. The Provider may cancel, move or change a session because of illness, health flare-ups, emergency, venue problems, low numbers or other unforeseen circumstances. She will give as much notice as she can. If you have paid, you can choose a transfer to the next available session or a refund.
Your legal rights. This section does not affect any legal right you may have to cancel a booking or to a refund.
8. Your responsibilities
By taking part, you agree to:
- attend at the venue or online platform provided, and tell the Provider if you can't attend, where possible;
- treat everyone with dignity, kindness and respect;
- take part only as much as you wish: all discussions and activities are voluntary;
- look after your own belongings and wellbeing;
- treat the venue and equipment with care and be responsible for any damage you cause to venues, equipment or property;
- follow reasonable safety instructions given during sessions and activities;
- pay for sessions you have booked, in line with section 7.
-to not take home any of the equipment provided, unless you have explicit permission from the OT
9. Group expectations and conduct
Participants agree to:
- contribute respectfully and value differing opinions and lived experiences;
- avoid abusive, discriminatory, threatening or offensive language;
- respect personal boundaries and other people's right to say no;
- understand that emotional discomfort can sometimes arise in discussions, and that they can step back at any time;
- recognise that the group welcomes people of all backgrounds and is LGBTQIA+ inclusive and racially inclusive.
Peer support is not professional advice. Other participants share their own lived experience. Please don't present your views as medical, legal or therapeutic advice, and please don't tell others to start, stop or change medication or treatment. The Provider's role is to facilitate the group, not to give individual clinical advice during it.
Looking after each other in discussion. Some subjects can be hard to hear. Please give a short content note before sharing something distressing, and avoid detailed descriptions of self-harm, suicide, abuse or trauma in the group. If the Provider hears these conversations they may gently steer the conversation, pause the session, or follow up with someone privately afterwards. This is about keeping everyone safe, not about shutting anyone out. If you want to talk about something heavy, the Provider can suggest better-suited support.
No selling or recruiting. Please don't use the group to promote products, services, groups or causes, or to recruit for other organisations, without the Provider's agreement.
The Provider may ask someone to take a break, leave a session, or not attend future sessions where this is needed to protect the wellbeing or safety of the group. This includes behaviour that is abusive, threatening, discriminatory, aggressive, disruptive, that puts others at risk or medical or safety risk that the provider is unable to safely support on their own. It also includes attending in a state that significantly affects safety, such as being intoxicated by alcohol or non-prescribed drugs. If you are removed from a session, you will not be refunded for that session.
10. Confidentiality within the group
- You agree to keep private anything personal that another participant shares, and not to pass it on outside the group without their permission.
- You understand that the Provider cannot guarantee confidentiality in a group, because other participants are responsible for keeping to this agreement themselves.
- You agree not to take photographs, screenshots, audio recordings or video recordings of any participant or session without the Provider's prior permission and the permission of everyone affected.
- You agree not to post about other participants (including identifiable details) on social media or elsewhere.
11. Confidentiality and safeguarding
What you share with the Provider will be treated as confidential wherever reasonably possible. The Provider may need to share information without your consent where she reasonably believes it is necessary:
- to protect you or someone else from serious harm;
- where there are safeguarding concerns about a child or an adult at risk of harm;
- where the law, a court order, a regulator or her professional obligations require it;
- to get emergency help for you or someone else.
Where it is safe and appropriate to do so, the Provider will talk to you about it first. The Provider may contact the emergency contact you gave if she reasonably believes you are at serious or immediate risk, including if she is unable to reach you after you have shared a concern about your safety.
During a session. If something happens in a session that raises a safety concern, the Provider may pause the session, speak to you privately, and, if needed, contact emergency services or your emergency contact. For online sessions, the Provider will use the address you gave when booking to send help if it is ever needed. In an emergency she may end the session immediately and, where possible, stay on the call with you until help arrives.
12. Your information and data protection
Who can see your information. Your information is stored in a secure, encrypted practice management system. The Provider's PA, an independent contractor registered with the ICO, can see booking and contact details (name, phone number, email address and any address you give) in order to manage bookings, payments and administration, and has access to the Provider's email account for the same purposes. The PA does not routinely read the content of emails other than enquiries and admin related questions, and escalates any safety concerns to the Provider.
Session notes. The Provider writes notes after each session about what happened in the group, such as attendance, topics covered, access adjustments, and any incidents or safety concerns. She does this to meet her professional and insurance requirements and to keep the group safe. Notes are kept to what is needed, and are stored securely, accessible only to the Provider. They are not shared with other participants. In line with her insurance, these are kept for a minimum of 7 years.
A full privacy notice is available in the privacy notice form.
Please make sure the person you name as your emergency contact knows you have given their details.
Email and messages. You are welcome to email the Provider. As set out in the privacy notice, the security of email can't be guaranteed, so please share only what you are comfortable sending that way. Please do not send personal or health information through social media or instant messaging.
13. Health and safety
Food and drink (in person). If you eat or drink anything, including what you bring, what your or others prepare on site or what the Provider offers (such as tea or coffee), it is at your own risk. Please tell the Provider about any allergies or dietary requirements in advance, and take appropriate care when preparing food or hot drinks.
In-person sessions. In-person sessions are held in hired rooms. Please follow the venue's rules and any fire or evacuation instructions, and tell the Provider about any accident or incident so it can be recorded. The Provider will tell you in advance about any access considerations she knows of at the venue.
Telling us what's helpful. You are welcome, but never required, to tell the Provider about any health condition, medication or access need that would help her keep you safe at a session.
14. Online sessions
When sessions are online:
- you are responsible for your own device and internet connection;
- please join from a private, quiet place where you reasonably can, so that others' privacy is protected;
- do not share meeting links with anyone;
- sessions are not recorded or transcribed by the Provider;
- recordings, screenshots and audio capture by participants are prohibited (section 10);
- please keep your chat messages respectful, as they are visible to others and may be saved by the platform;
- the Provider can't be responsible for technical problems on your side. Reasonable efforts are made to use secure platforms, but no online communication can be guaranteed to be completely secure or uninterrupted.
15. Photographs and promotion
The Provider will not take or publish photographs or recordings of participants, or share your story or comments for promotion, without your separate written consent. You can withdraw that consent at any time for future use.
Third parties such as Derbyshire Voluntary Action may send a representative to a session; this may be to see how the group operates or to speak with the Provider. They may request to take photos or try to speak with you. You are under no obligation to say yes to photographs, nor to speak with them.
16. Contact outside the group and professional boundaries
The relationship between the Provider and participants is a professional one. Outside sessions, please use the agreed contact routes (email or other approved methods). The Provider's preferred method of communication is email, and she aims to reply within 72hours (not including weekends or periods of leave or illness). The Provider can't provide ongoing support between sessions by email or message.
If you meet the Provider in public, you are welcome to say hello, but she will not usually start the greeting, to protect your privacy. Please do not add the Provider on personal social media accounts; you are welcome to interact with the business accounts.
The Provider may accept cards or inexpensive tokens of appreciation (generally £25 or less) but may decline gifts that could compromise professional boundaries, in line with HCPC and RCOT standards.
If you choose to swap contact details or communicate with other participants outside sessions, you do so at your own discretion and risk. The Provider isn't responsible for communications, relationships or disputes between participants outside organised sessions, and doesn't monitor any participant-run groups.
The Bubble WhatsApp chat (optional). The Provider runs a WhatsApp chat for Bubble participants to stay in touch and ask questions between sessions. Joining is entirely optional, you can join without attending a session, and you can leave at any time. If you join:
You do so at your own risk, as it is not a heavily moderated or vetted group chat. Anyone can join.
It is not monitored all the time. The Provider checks it when she is able to. It is not a crisis or support service. If you are in crisis or immediate danger, use the contacts in section 3, not the chat.
Everyone in the chat can see your phone number and name (as shown on your WhatsApp profile), including people you haven't met. Only join if you are comfortable with that, and please only share what you are happy for the whole group to see. If this is a barrier, you are welcome to email the Provider with your questions instead.
The same expectations apply as in sessions (sections 9 and 10): treat each other with respect, keep what others share private, and do not screenshot, forward or share messages or other people's details outside the chat.
Please don't share personal or health information about yourself or others in the chat, and avoid descriptions of self-harm, suicide, abuse or trauma. If you need to tell the Provider something private, please email her instead.
The Provider may remove messages or members where this is needed to keep the chat safe and respectful, and will explain her reasons where she can. Leaving or being removed from the chat does not affect your place in the group.
Peers, not professionals. Messages from other members are their own experience, not professional advice, and the Provider is not responsible for what participants say to each other in the chat.
Questions to the Provider. You are welcome to ask general questions in the chat. The Provider may share general information and signposting when she can, but this is not occupational therapy, assessment or individual advice, and no OT relationship is created by it. She may not be able to answer every question. For individual support, you can ask about 1:1 services.
Messages do not disappear automatically. They stay in the chat history for current members and on their devices.
WhatsApp is a third-party service. The Provider cannot guarantee its security or confidentiality, and messages may be seen by anyone with access to a member's device.
Any other groups or chats set up by participants themselves are separate from The Bubble. You join them at your own discretion and risk, and the Provider doesn't monitor them.
17. Complaints
If you are unhappy with anything about the group, please tell the Provider by email at admin@navigateneurodiversityot.com or in person. She will acknowledge a formal written complaint within 14 working days and will provide a full written response within 30 days. If you are not satisfied, you can contact the HCPC (hcpc-uk.org) about her professional conduct, or the ICO (ico.org.uk) about data protection.
18. Liability and insurance
You attend voluntarily and remain responsible for your own actions, wellbeing and decisions during and after sessions, and for your belongings.
The Provider will provide the group with reasonable care and skill. Nothing in this agreement limits or excludes:
- liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence;
- liability for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation;
- any liability that cannot legally be limited or excluded;
- your statutory consumer rights.
Subject to that, the Provider is not liable for indirect or consequential losses, or for loss that was not reasonably foreseeable, arising from taking part.
19. Changes to these terms and to the group
The Provider may update this agreement, for example to reflect changes in law or in how the group runs. She will tell you of any material change at least [14 days] before it takes effect. If you do not accept the change you can stop attending. If you keep attending after that notice period, you will be treated as having accepted the updated terms.
The Provider may suspend, modify, relocate or end the group where reasonably necessary.
20. Events beyond the Provider's control
The Provider isn't liable for cancellations or interruptions caused by things outside her reasonable control, including illness, severe weather, venue closures, government restrictions, internet or power outages, industrial action or other unforeseen events.
21. General
- Whole agreement. This is the whole agreement about taking part in The Bubble and replaces earlier discussions about it. It does not remove any rights you have by law.
- If part is invalid. If any part is found to be unenforceable, the rest continues to apply.
- Waiver. If the Provider doesn't enforce a term straight away, she hasn't given up the right to do so later.
- Third parties. Only you and the Provider can enforce this agreement.
- Law and courts. This agreement is governed by the laws of England and Wales, and the courts of England and Wales have jurisdiction.
- How long it lasts. This agreement covers your participation in The Bubble until it is replaced by an updated version, or until you or the Provider end your participation.
22. Liability:
The Provider provides services based on professional judgement. However, all information and guidance are offered for general support & education purposes only. The therapist makes no guarantees regarding outcomes of any service.
22.1. The Provider is not responsible or liable for any direct, indirect, incidental, or consequential damages, losses, injuries, or adverse outcomes arising from the use or misuse of any services, recommendations, resources, or products created or suggested by the Provider, except where caused by negligence or breach of statutory duty.
22.2. Participants remain responsible for their own decisions, actions, and safe implementation of any recommendations provided, and are advised to seek professional or medical advice where appropriate.
22.3. The provider is not responsible for the content, safety, accuracy, or quality of any external resources, services, or products provided by third parties.
22.4 .At times, administrative or organisational support may be provided by the Personal Assistant (PA), who is an independent contractor and not an employee, agent, or representative of the therapist. The PA operates as a separate entity and is solely responsible for their own conduct, decisions, and actions.
22.5. The provider is not responsible or liable for any acts, omissions, advice, communications, errors, or outcomes arising from any interaction between the PA and participants. Any support provided by the PA is limited to administrative assistance and does not constitute therapy, clinical advice, or professional guidance.
22.6. The provider acknowledges that any engagement with the PA is voluntary and undertaken at their own discretion and risk.
22.7. The provider is not liable for failure to perform due to circumstances beyond reasonable control (e.g., natural disaster, pandemic, internet outage).