These blog posts could be interesting for anyone, but especially if you are a parent/carer of a child or young person with additional needs or a disability.
Around 20% of children and young people have long-term additional needs or disabilities of some kind. That’s about 2.5 million in the UK alone. Many of them, and their families, feel excluded from a wide range of social activities, so how can we reach out to, and meet, the needs of these children and their … Continue reading Accessible? Inclusive? Belonging For All? What About You?
To the mother of our special needs child, my wife… It’s not your fault… It’s not your fault that our child is Autistic. It’s not your fault that he has Learning Difficulties and struggles to communicate effectively. It’s not your fault that James has Epilepsy. None of these things are your fault, or mine; they … Continue reading “It’s Not Your Fault…” A Letter To The Mother Of Our Special Needs Child
Hidden: (adjective) kept out of sight; concealed. (verb) past of ‘hide’ We frequently encounter the term ‘hidden disabilities’; it is in widespread use across the media, throughout society, within many of the various disability communities. In general, most people have a view on what they think it means; they will refer to it as relating to disabilities … Continue reading Seeking The Truth About ‘Hidden’ Disabilities
Parents of children with special needs experience many highs and lows along their parenting journey, but what are the secrets? What never gets mentioned, what never gets talked about, what always gets hidden; what are the confessions of a special needs parent? Well, it’s time for that to change, time shine a light on the … Continue reading Confessions Of A Special Needs Parent
I meet a lot of parents of children with special/additional needs in my work and connect with many more through websites and online forums. One thing I’ve noticed over the years is that the parents I meet are almost always Mum’s, not Dad’s. There are exceptions, of course, but it’s fair to say that the … Continue reading Where Are All The Dad’s Of Children With Special Needs?
We have two children; James, 18, Autistic, with Learning Difficulties and Epilepsy, and Phoebe, 20, neurotypical and a young carer. This post is all about Phoebe's unfortunate start on James' arrival, but then all that we have learned from her since. The arrival of a second child into a family is almost always disruptive. The … Continue reading How Our Wonderful ‘Young Carer’ Daughter Has Inspired And Taught Us
Happy New Year! Now there is a phrase filled with all sorts of questions, opportunities and possibilities! Will it be happy? How can we tell? Do we say “Happy New Year!” with confidence that it will contain happiness, or out of hope that it might, or in defiance from a place where we feel happiness … Continue reading A Positive Year Ahead? Never Give Up Trying!
Christmas has come and gone, with all of its celebration, joys, and maybe some trials and tribulations thrown in for good measure… Racing up next we say goodbye to the old year and cheer in the new; but how that makes you feel might well depend on the kind of year you’ve had, and any expectations you may have for the year ahead.
Christmas can be a very difficult time… especially for parents of children with additional needs. Everyone seems to be enjoying a perfect time of celebration, with invitations to meals, parties and festive fun flooding in, while for many of us the holiday period is a lonely time...
It’s Christmas!! Those two words seem to divide the nation even more than Brexit has, with people falling into one of two ‘camps’… Either you started wearing your Christmas jumper in October, had your decorations up in November and have already watched ‘Elf’ 12 times this season, or you feel like King Theoden in the Lord of the Rings movie 'The Two Towers' right before the major battle at Helms Deep when he grimly says, “So, it begins…”.
Delightful Handmade Dog Products and Gifts
An additional needs Dad and Son baking adventure...
Special Education Teaching Resources, Sensory Stories and SEND Information
The Additional Needs Blogfather 