Stop taking things personally
When someone says something about you, it is all about their frame of mind and how they are feeling.
emotional resilience
Asking for help – Motivation
Are you really good at being there for everyone else but fail miserably when it comes to asking for help when you need it?
Which Wolf do You Feed?
Today, I am sharing something I recently read, a story about an Indian man and a wolf – or two.
The best advice I ever received, as a mum
When you have a child, everyone has a tip to share, their absolute must have best advice But some days it feels like everyone just wants to tell you what you’re doing wrong. Or at least that is how feels as a new mum who hasn’t had a good nights sleep for months.
You’re just lazy
I think I saw myself through her eyes. I was explaining about the difficulties and her response was “Debs, sorry love but I think you’re just lazy, there’s no excuse”
The SEND Line – A never ending rollercoaster
Life on the SEND Line is a never ending rollercoaster, catch a reply of a FB Live I did about life on the SEND Line.
What I love about the SEND Minefield
The things I love about life in the SEND Minefield. Yes there are some positives.
What I hate about the SEND Minefield
The experiences that have left me sat seething with anger, crying in pain or shaking with frustration.
Negative Stereotypes
The joy that is Rain Man has helped to perpetuate many myths around autism; we are often asked what his talent is or if he can recall everything he has read.
Baker Small (BS), what were you thinking?
This company were not just celebrating a win, they were laughing at the parents who had lost. Somehow, the child at the centre of this didn’t appear to be even considered.
Poor choices – why do we make them?
I have tried every single diet plan there is. I know all about poor choices. I know all about what I should be doing. I know what I should be eating. So why am I not doing it?
Today – What parents and practitioners need to know
This video has received over 21k views on Youtube and I have had contact from parents and practitioners across the globe since publishing it. It has been used in training across the UK, in the States, in Canada and Australia to help raise awareness of the reality of the lives we live.
The Days After The Diagnosis
So much is written about how to get a diagnosis; what the criteria is for a diagnosis and what to do when you don’t get one but little is written about how it feels to get the diagnosis.
To eat the cake or not eat the cake
Do you have conversations with yourself where you try to justify behaviour or talk yourself into doing something you know you shouldn’t? A chat where the voices in your head battle it out to win their own way?
Saying Goodbye to some friends in 2016
I have sat today and wrote down all I am proud of, all that has gone well for me and also who has nurtured and supported me throughout the year and finally what I am going to let go of in 2016.
Is this it forever Mum? Will I always be blind?
It has taken me a bit of time to be able to write this post as the pain of hearing those words was almost my un-doing. I’m seen as a strong woman who can handle anything that is thrown at me; and, to be honest, I like to perpetuate that myth – in the hope that it will one day be true.
Why we need to be grateful for the men who do things “for us”
I am talking about the men who do things like:
– load the dishwasher
– iron their shirts
– feed the children
– bring the washing in
and then tell you they have done it “for you”
Sometimes just coping is enough
I hadn’t considered that perhaps there was more going on with my child and that they were perhaps just holding their head above water, kicking frantically below the surface to stay above water, but giving the impression that everything was fine.
Does failing make you a failure?
Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.
How removing uncertainty helps us to be happier in the world of SEN
As you will have probably guessed by now, I am an avid reader. I love all types of books. General fiction, murder mystery, thriller, romance, adult romance (Yes, I know Mr Grey) and the classics. I am also a huge fan of personal development books. Brene Brown, Gretchen Rubin, Tony Robbins, Bob Proctor, Jack Canfield,…
Are you gonna spend your day down in the dirt?
As I write this, it is the morning of Friday 8th March, 2015. The day after the General Election. The day we realised that we are highly likely to have a Conservative Government for the next five years. The day Esther McVey lost her seat The day Ed Timpson kept his seat The day Norman…
When Debs met Andy Burnham at Radio 5 Live
Last week, I was invited by Radio 5 Live to be part of their “Your Call” hour. This time it was to be part of a panel of “the public” interviewing Andy Burnham before the big day tomorrow. This was a much more formal set up than the last time I was on the show….
Do you ever just feel tired of it all?
Like many of us, I have children who believe that sleeping through the night is just an urban myth. Oh the joy of having to cope with a full day of paperwork or appointments when you have had a few hours split sleep. Sleep deprivation is torturous, as you know, but I think my body has…
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…
Parenting – how do you know you’re getting it right?
When you find out you’re pregnant, you wonder what sort of parent you will be. When your child arrives, you wonder what sort of character they will be. As they grow, you wonder if you are getting this parenting job right. Is your parenting helping your child to be confident in their ability? Is your…
Divided we fall…
Most of us did not chose to live in this community, we were dropped into it. Dropped in from a great height, very quickly, with no warning and no safety net or soft landing We eventually start to find our feet, although most of us probably fell back down on a number of occasions and, as my son…
Today, I lost a friend
Today I lost a friend. Those five words cannot convey the heartbreak I am feeling. I lost an amazing friend who has been part of my life for over 20 years. He was the type of friend everyone should have. My life was certainly richer for knowing him. Who was Jeremy? A friend who didn’t judge. A…
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly of life in the SEN world
Almost ten years ago, I gave birth to my first child. For the first 6 months, we had the usual anxieties that new parents have with no warning of what was to come. Then the world of SEN arrived. Within two years, we had three children and had to learn about hydrocephalus, autism, Aspergers, retinopathy…
Why?
Why is it that when you have read everything you can about your children’s known conditions, another one pops up to knock the wind out of your sails? Why is it that your children’s conditions cause such mayhem and turn your life upside down in a way no one can understand unless they’ve been there?…
Stop the world
Today has been one of those days when I wanted to just say “stop the ride, I want to get off”. Yesterday my gorgeous youngest son started to have unexplained black outs, so as we have an amazing GP, we went along last night. We had to return this morning for bloods. Now, Emla cream,…