THANK YOU I can’t thank you enough for your lovely comments and messages over the past couple of weeks while I’ve been unwell. Your kind words of concern and warmth have carried me through some very dark moments, and it’s
Families – the Key to Person-Centred Care
Letting Go One of the hardest parts of being a parent of someone who is very vulnerable is learning how to trust other people to share in the taking care of them. My son, Toby, is now 23 and he
9 Steps to Help You Cope with Life Changing Disability or Illness in Your Child
Coming to terms and accepting any devastating change in circumstances is an incredibly painful and long-term period of adjustment. When the focus of those changes is one of our children due to a life-changing injury or illness, a disability or
Is “tolerance” enough? -Part of the #12DaysXmas Twittter Project
Today I’ve been hosting our NHS-inspired Twitter #12daysXmas project and it’s all been about tolerance. It’s not a word I’ve really given much time to before, but spending the day sourcing great songs, pieces of writing and other quotes that
Perinatal Mental Health – What Happens Next?
On Friday afternoon I was privileged to be among a gathering of 150 people invited to The House of Commons for a groundbreaking event – bringing together the knowledge, experience, research and wisdom of experts in the field of Perinatal
How to Manage Autism Calmly over Christmas
It seemed like such a good idea at the time. Easy peasy lemon squeezy – how difficult would it be to film a few videos and create an online course about how to help children with autism have a Happy
Difficult Conversations for Maternity Staff
I always think that being a midwife must be a wonderful job, to be there at the very beginning of life, when a new little person is born, and helping the most important adults in their world begin the
NHS England – Thank you for Listening
The NHS Track Record with Learning Disability and Autism Did you know that every single day 3 adults with a Learning Disability die unexpectedly and prematurely in our NHS hospitals? Did you also know that a diagnosis of a Learning
There’s a hole in the safety net
I’m delighted to introduce Nikki Brandon who has written her very first blog post, and who has also very kindly agreed to share it with us all as my Guest Blogger. Nikki writes very powerfully about an issue which sadly
What makes a Good Leader?
If you glance at people’s profiles on Twitter and Linkedin you’ll notice how many people are describing themselves as “Leaders”, or giving themselves even more specific labels such as “Thought Leader” or “Change Leader”. It’s a relatively new trend, and
