My Babies
As my first pregnancy progressed, my years of saying “I don’t do kids” was repaid with hyperemesis gravidarum, Symphysis pubis dysfunction and polyhydramnios.
Special Needs Minefield
What does Participation look like as a diagram?
As I sat scrolling through Twitter a few weeks ago, I came across a conversation that set me thinking. Kath Evans (Head of Patient Experience at NHS England) was asking if people preferred an image showing “the ladder of participation” or “the circle of involvement”. Circle, Ladder or Venn? Initially I sat and thought “definitely…
I have a dream
On St George’s Day, as we approach the next General Election, I wanted to remind us of the awe-inspiring speech by the Rev Dr Martin Luther King on August 28, 1963 at the Lincoln Memorial. The speech was a defining moment of the American Civil Rights Movement. One person with a dream can make a difference…
Walls come tumbling down……..
This song was released in 1985 so how come almost 30 years later, the lyrics are still so appropriate Walls come Tumbling Down You don’t have to take this crap You don’t have to sit back and relax You can actually try changing it I know we’ve always been taught to rely Upon…
Daring Greatly – Big Changes
After years of being involved with parent carer forums, I have made the decision to move on to a new challenge. This decision has been hugely daunting, as despite any frustrations the role may have brought to me (as any role will occasionally do), it was also a role I knew well. I was comfortable….
Top Tips for SENCOs
I have been approached by a magazine and asked for my views on the following: How should SENCOs involve parents in the decision making process and plan for their child? What can SENCOs do to improve co-production and communication in general? What types of questions do you think parents will be asking of SENCOs over…
What is Respect?
As a parent of three children with a variety of SEN and Disability, I often said “I just wish they would show me some respect”. One day I was challenged to define what I meant by Respect, so I went to several parents like me and asked. This is what they said What else would…
Reality checks – necessary evils?
The last few weeks have been full of harsh reality checks; those moments when reality just slaps you hard across the face. They hurt. One of the big ones was the sudden unexpected reappearance of my gorgeous boy’s coping mechanism for anxiety. This is something we haven’t seen for almost two years – we are…
Communication matters…
I am really thrilled to be the guest blog on Helen Sanderson Associates site this month. Helen asked me what co-production meant to me…… Here is my response What co-production means to me Take the time to look around Helen’s site – one page profiles are a new passion of mine having used them to…
What made you smile today?
I’m on cloud 9 this evening. In January I agreed to become a collaborator on a very successful blog. Today, the creator of the blog has given me my first Linkedin recommendation. It reads as follows: I asked Debs to join me at Special Needs Jungle at the beginning of 2013. I believed she would…
Bank Holidays and Motorways
Why did I think driving 300 miles on a Bank Holiday would be a good idea? Why did I think Bank Holidays and Motorways would ever be a good combination? My day started badly when I was setting up the kids DVD players in the car and managed to lock myself into the back seat….
What’s your motto?
What gets you through the day?
How do I say “thank you”?
So often we write down our complaints, our bad experiences; we write about the people who made us unhappy today or the comment that you read that you felt was aimed directly at you. Today, however, I want to write about the things and people I am thankful for. The good people often get taken…
Responsibility v Accountability
We use these words regularly in our lives but what is the difference? As a parent we have responsibility to enable our child to Be healthy Stay safe Enjoy and achieve Make a positive contribution Achieve economic well-being Responsibility is bestowed on us when we take on the role of parent or carer, whether we like…
Do you remember the day you heard?
Do you remember? Do you remember the day you heard? Do you remember the day your child was given a label? Do you remember the day your life was turned upside down? Do you remember thinking your heart would never feel this much pain again? Do you remember thinking you would never cope with this? …
Today – the parent perspective
Many years ago, before I really knew what I was doing with videos, I put together a compilation of the everyday things families of children with disabilities go through. The everyday things which may be in one set of case notes but not another, or more likely not in any notes, the everyday things parents…
The Magic Blue Pill…..
I spend so much time with parents and often hear how they would like a magic blue pill to make everything better. Here is a letter to my children about a magic blue pill. I would like to start with saying though that my children do not have health issues which involve many many hours,…