Toby had the dentists on Wednesday, and it was a bit of a daunting appointment. I’ll explain why in a little while. Toby sees an NHS specialist community dentist who works with adults with a learning disability. Dental appointments with
WHAT IS WITHIN ( Part One )
By John Walsh and Yvonne Newbold “You understand so little of what is around you because you do not use what is within you“ – Hildegard of Bingen As humans we are an amalgam of both logic and emotion, together
70 years of Autism, and what’s changed?
When my mother left Dublin in 1946, just before her 18th birthday, to come to England to start her nursing training, the word “Autism” had only just been invented. Last week, 70 years later, I was delighted and honoured to
“Fantastic Workshop” about Special Needs
Up early, bleary eyed and barely able to speak in joined up words, Malcolm, Francesca and I set off at what felt like the crack of dawn to drive to Burgess Hill, a lovely town nestled in the West Sussex
Is it autism? Is it something else? Or is it all Mum’s fault?
What happens when you think your child might have a disability or a special need of some sort, and you approach the relevant professionals for help and support? It would be nice to think that families in that situation are
How to blog about your children whilst protecting their privacy
Blogging about my children is something I do all the time, and amazingly, they all still talk to me! If you read anything I’ve written about them, I hope you’d get the impression that I’m being completely open, honest and
Special Needs Parents Views on the NHS
Parents of children with disabilities see much more of the NHS than most people do, particularly if our children have associated medical conditions. We see it from lots of different angles too – frequent hospital in-patient care, repeated GP visits,
My Excellent Teacher
The day Toby was born, I knew very little about disability, apart from a vague notion that things like that only happened to other people. Suddenly, I was on a steep learning curve, and I needed an excellent teacher. Luckily
NHS & Kindness – the care that always gets remembered
I’m delighted to introduce a Guest Blog Post by Kirsty Evans of Itsallaboutevie, Writing from the heart about what family life is like when your beautiful eldest daughter happens to have Down’s Syndrome There’s no “I” in Team Evie is
The darkest days of special needs parenting
Sometimes there are no answers, only a deep dark place of sadness, when we have to admit to ourselves that we just don’t have a clue where to go from here, what to do next, or how to get through
