Ambassador – Learning Disabilities, Autism, and their Families for the World Health Innovation Summit (WHIS)
HSJ Top 50 Inspirational Women in Healthcare 2014
Learning Disability Today – Learning Disability Champion 2015
Yvonne Newbold is a writer, speaker and trainer who is also the mother to three children, including Toby who is multiply disabled with profound learning disabilities. She is passionate about doing whatever it takes to make things better for children and adults who have a neurodevelopmental condition or disability, as well as for their families.
Yvonne is the author of The Special Parent’s Handbook, covering every aspect of Special Needs Parenting and sharing all that she learnt about making life easier. The book is an Amazon #1 Best Seller, and she has since won three awards; HSJ Top 50 Inspirational Women in Healthcare 2014, Learning Disability Today Parent/Carer Advocate Champion Award 2015, and The PENNA Award 2016 for Outstanding Contribution in Patient Experience
Yvonne continues to write extensively on issues relating to special needs parenting, learning disability, autism and other related topics. She is also very active on social media, supporting over 12,000 parents on her Facebook Page, also called Special Parent’s Handbook. On Twitter and Linkedin Yvonne engages with healthcare professionals, teaching staff and others who work with families like her own, gently challenging them to think differently about their own work practices by speaking at conferences and delivering workshops.
Yvonne has developed a series of workshops for parents of special needs children on many of the issues that parents struggle with such as advocating effectively for their child in Multidisciplinary Meetings, ensuring that the siblings aren’t left out and looking after oneself. Please have a look at the Parent’s Workshops page for more information.
Yvonne has also developed a series of ground-breaking Workshops for Healthcare Professionals, School staff and Care Workers covering areas of her own experience such as the difference that kindness and compassion can make within a therapeutic relationship, how to adapt working practice to meet the needs of patients with a learning disability or autism, and how to manage successful co-production projects. Please see the HCP Workshops page to find out more.
When people hear Yvonne speak or attend one of her workshops they generally leave feeling more positive, empowered and with a will to become even better at what they do. Yvonne’s passion is contagious, and if her key message could be distilled into one simple phrase is would be that “Kindness makes people better”.
Yvonne is also creating online training courses, both in written and in video formats on a range of topics including Autism, Learning Disability, ADHD, OCD and many other SEND related topics that are aimed at both parents and professionals.
Yvonne has been living with cancer since 2012, and in 2013, after intensive cancer treatment, it was discovered that her cancer had progressed to Stage 4, with secondaries in her spine. Her prognosis is not good, and initially she was told that she was unlikely to survive much more that two years or so. Although she is currently responding very well to on-going treatment her future remains extremely uncertain. It was her diagnosis which was the catalyst for writing her book, and instead of a “bucket list”, she is determined to spend whatever time she had left doing whatever she could to improve the lives of the next generation of families like her own.
Yvonne also writes about cancer on her blog Coke Floats & Chemo, and she also has a second Facebook Page which offers support to people affected by the disease, and shares the same name. Meanwhile she continues to receive on-going active oncology treatment which for the moment seems to be slowing down the progression of her cancer. She has already doubled her original 2 year prognosis, and she is determined to keep going and making a difference for as long as possible.
If you would like to find out more about Yvonne’s work and how she may be able to help your team, please email her on yvonne@yvonnenewbold.com
