Writing
Wrapped in dodgy peach wallpaper, Nix’s first (unsurprisingly unpublished) ‘Bully Book’ was a collection of her primary school class experiences with being treated unfairly in the 1990s. This was clearly a harbinger of her future pursuits.
Writing endless schemes of work for schools and working in inner London, she became an organiser and activist for Disability, Anti racist and LGBT+ in Education. Going on to become President of the National Union of Teachers and joint Equalities officer in Hackney with Richard Rieser (who co-wrote the Equalities act 2010 and is the founder of UKDHM). She wrote press releases and presented conference speeches. One speech about Phonics testing being detrimental to children’s health sounded out the word bollocks.
A member of Neurodelicious, Nix is a sound cultivator who writes and sings jingles, parodies and serious drum and bass about the plight of Refugees. With a certificate in sound healing, she offers wellbeing events too.
Being on the board of PDA safer practise, her most common work can be found in the form of social stories/accessible signage and lobbying around greater accessibility in everyday life and small businesses.
Volunteering for the cycle group Kidicle Mass, and making art from found objects, she is an ally of the environment and is keen to facilitate climate strikes.
Being Neurodivergent, Nix is hoping to use this course to be held accountable to finishing something. She hopes to write her musical about being a late diagnosed human before the Pandemic. She eventually wants to go on to curate a museum of Neurodivergence if anyone’s interested.
Written and performed by Nix Nugent, The PDA Play is a one-person, multi-media musical blending movement, parody, dark comedy, poetry, and audience karaoke to explore life with Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA), an often-misunderstood nervous system disability. Based on lived experience and community stories, it’s an unfiltered journey through burnout, joy, and transformation—raising awareness, demanding change, and celebrating neurodivergent authenticity.
Born from The Disabled Writer's Workshop (Graeae/The Mercury Theatre), this one-human, multi-sensory, multi-media musical is bursting with parodies, dark comedy, movement and poetry. The show embodies Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA) bringing awareness, understanding and other people’s stories to life. Including audience participation, visual projections and karaoke.
Sitting on the Board of Safer Practice for Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA), there’s an energetic power in being amongst your people or tribe. Along the way, I have involved friends and families, colleagues, and organisations in the local community with this project, encompassing my aim to raise awareness of PDA.
Personally, and professionally, I am going through the process of ‘unmasking’ in life. Self-diagnosing post-Nataly, before TikTok and the pandemic. Between the ages of 38 and 40, I discovered that being authentic, having meltdowns and saying how I felt, rather than holding it all in, held something frightening yet freeing. Therefore, not surprisingly, I have a great desire within me to make the show as accessible as possible.
Within the educational, medical and general field, PDA is widely misaligned and misunderstood. Recent statistics may shock you: ‘The number of PDA adults reporting suicidal thoughts and self-harm was also high – 84% and 65% respectively’. Source/link for further reading https://www.pdasociety.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/PDA-and-mental-health-briefing.pdf Becoming M.O.M, is the ‘journey’ of authentic self-discovery.
As a highly imaginative and different child, growing up in the 1980s, I thought my life was one big, live-action musical. This was partly due to undiagnosed Neurodivergence, Disney and a general desire to escape.
As I write this (with the help of my support worker), I am waiting to hear about retiring from 20 years of teaching. This decision is being made by someone who doesn’t know what PDA is and has had only a 30-minute introductory conversation with me, yet this decision will impact my finances, mental health, family, benefits and entire future.
I plan to include a community of neurodivergent Nanas who craft for local charities. They are called ‘Crafty Mayhem’ and they have agreed to knit – live- throughout the whole show (as a Brechtian reminder of my Trichotillomania, or hair pulling). With permission, at the end of the show, we will then adorn a local lamp post, or post-box with their arty offering.
Poetry
Some examples of my poetry in written and audio formats.
Poetry by Nix Nugent published on Disability Arts Online
Humbling to all
Interesting to know
Disability can be
Deeply hidden
Enveloped in skin and brain
Neurological, cranial
Direct dirty looks
Internal turmoils
Sometimes they need
A label
Brazenly burned onto my body
In plain sight for all
Living concentration camp stamp
Inmate
To help
You understand me
Hidden Disability Poem
The Village
Where is the sanctuary for us?
The safe, soft, serene, separated, yet, together place?
The place that can hold us-like in the womb?
Cushioned, cradled, cosseted…
Shielded from cacophony
Loving arms that rock us
The clinic, only not medical at all in any way shape or form.
Asylum is not the right word.
A retreat, only free.
Our village
Where everyone has a place and is welcome no matter what state they show up in
Currently, it only exists in my mind-heart.
I need to make it a reality. Who’s with me?
Burnout
I wish I had the energy to
wonder and ponder how
it'll all turn out this:
Burnout
When did it start?
When will it finish?
How did it all come about?
I think working 'isolated'
in a world-wide Lockdown.
Being expected to be a robot-
no feelings / personality.
Bullying again.
Then along came the
self- doubt
Working 60-hour weeks,
being unsupported, having
Suicidal Ideations all for
Nowt
The Education system broken,
Lost and gone too far.
Still I went in for round whatever number and
suffered more, another bout.
Baby in belly
I work and Iwork.
I cry to parents and
Intuit to take anxiety pills.
It must be me. I'm a no goer
Take another punch another
clout
A child hit me there.
Inmy vulnerable place
Where
New life was growing
Union helped me -refused
to go back. We are not going.
A change of class.
Yes this
was slightly better.
A job share with a suspicious
mistrusting person who
Struggled to speak
Struggled to teach
Ouch
Now my blancmange brain
baffled by basic banter
Mouth on shuffle mode, but
used to be a canter.
I used to quip, to snap to
breeze.
Words, ideas would
flow to me with ease.
Can someone turn the air
Con on. I’m Like 100 degrees.