What a special invitation!! On 14th July live from 11am on Radio Gateway FM for the Aston Avery show, I will be interviewed by the amazing Steven Smith who has the biggest heart and does so much to support autism awareness and mental health. The show will be looking at mental health after lockdown.
Other guests include Denise Welch who has just brought out her incredible, brave and honest book, “The Unwelcome Visitor: Depression and How I Survive It” and make up artist to the stars Sherrie Warwick. I would love it SO much if as many of you as possible could tune in!
Steven Smith rose to fame in the late 1990’s and suddenly found himself as a stylist to the stars. He had a column in The Sun newspaper, worked as a TV makeover artist and travelled the world with an illustrious career. He also wrote his autobiography, “It Shouldn’t Happen to a Hairdresser” and was very kind to give me a copy which I shall treasure! He writes blogs, columns and articles to this day along with his radio and charity work.
Aston Avery is an absolutely inspiring and motivational young man who has burst so many myths and negative limitations surrounding autism . With the support and belief of his tight knit and beautiful family , Aston has gone on to be a radio DJ with his own show, is an ambassador for the Anna Kennedy Online Charity and has won many awards for his extensive charity work.
I actually DID have to do a HUGE headstand of joy after being invited by Anna Kennedy OBE to write weekly beginner’s therapyarticles for her online charity website during Covid – It’s true!
I will be writing an introductory article on therapies such as massage, story massage, yoga, kids yoga, yoga for autism, mindfulness, gratitude, meditation, sound therapy, simple activities to explore emotional intelligence and build new positive neurological pathways as well as relaxation…to name just a few! Each weekly article will also discuss the scientifically researched and proven benefits of each therapy along with a video to accompany it! ( which can also be found on my YouTube channel – see Home Page for icon).
It is an enormously massive joy and fulfilment for me to be doing this to help Anna and her team support mental, emotional and physical health during these challenging times. My heart always feels like bursting when I can reach out further and further into our global community. I feel so blessed.
It is with IMMENSE joy that I am sharing with you the news that I have been invited by Jyoti Jo Manuel, founder of Special Yoga, to give a webinar on Saturday 7th November 2020 from 2-5pm. This will be a part of the Special Yoga for Special Children Level Two training. I’ll be in my element !! Thank you Jyoti . I love working alongside therapists , teachers and practitioners who inspire and help drive me. It always feels SO good to reach that many more people together !
“MODULE 15
Giuliana Wheater
Indian Head Massage For Special Needs.
In this module we welcome Giuliana to share Indian Head Massage practices that she has used successfully for many years and she has especially adapted them for autism, ADHD ,other different abilities as well as mental health. The module will involve practices that you will learn on yourself to share on. The time together will be interwoven with Giuliana’s inspiring story of her son. ”
Something I resisted for so long ….. but following the unexpectedly enormous reaction to videos I made during Lockdown which I shared all over my social media, Anna Kennedy’s AKO Expo page, my Online Rainbow Therapies for Kids and Families Public FB Group as well as Linkedin (where several of them trended just one after another within the first week , to my complete amazement) I have now set up a Youtube channel. Its called Rainbow kids TouchTherapy but is inclusive of EVERYONE … all ages, abilities, different abilities and situations.
What turned out to be a simple joy of sharing and wanting to reach out to families during Covid -19, has had the most incredible, surprising and joyful outcome. Never did I think as the world closed down, that my deep fear would turn to such unbridled joy and that globally I would end up reaching so many more people !!! Isn’t life extraordinary and often very beautiful !!
*Go to the YouTube widget on the homepage where a link will take you to my channel. It would be utterly GORGEOUS if you could watch, enjoy, subscribe and share ! Thank you to all of you who have been part of this journey.
This really is a wonderful honour! I am so excited!!!!
I have been invited by Joanna Ozimek-Parkitna of Holistic Medis, to be part of a “five day flash-learning event that features just five or six speakers each giving their unique perspective on this topic.” I will be publishing links to this event soon and particularly during the week 6-12th July so please watch this space.
The title of my talks to be shared during this summit week came to me instantly and I am bursting with all I have to share. Anyone taking part in this event will be able to share some of my massage and other therapeutic techniques several free video clips so you can all do this at home!!
What a delicious honour to be invited as a special guest speaker on 1st June 2020 for a live interview with Michelle Beckett and Stephanie Camillieri of ADHD Unlocked Community for adults with ADHD. Thet are an amazing group doing so much valuable and beneficial work. They have been streaming live FaceBook interviews with “real lives” so I felt really chuffed to be asked.
This is what they had to say …I am including it here because it is very insightful and is useful to those trying to understand and ‘get inside ‘the ADHD mind :
“With Special Guest Giuliana Wheater.
Us ADHDers spend far too much time in our heads and this often leads to us feeling stressed, overwhelmed and unhappy. We find it very difficult to “rest”.
We often avoid resting because this is when we end to be left with our own thoughts and naturally this is something we tend to want to avoid for fear of ruminating.
So… how do we get ourselves out of our own heads ? Some ADHDers exercise intensely.Others of us that arent so keen to physically challenge ourselves prefer a different type of intensity. One that involves less movement on our part, but is just as effective for getting ourselves out of our heads and into our bodies.
It’s massage…
Today we are lucky to have Giuliana Wheater to speak to us today about the benefits of massage for individuals with ADHD and other neurodiverse conditions. A registered teacher with the Complementary Medical Association, Giuliana works within pastoral and SEN sectors at schools, colleges and specialist academies treating young people with “special needs”, including ADHD and ASD. A mother to an autistic son who has suffered with OCD she has a unique perspective and a wealth of understanding and knowledge.
Beautifully nurturing on emotional, mental and physical levels,it is scientifically proven to boost immunity and resilience to stres. It stimulates emotional and social skills along with the “fab four hormones” : Oxytocin (love and nurture), serotonin (happiness and confidence), dopamine (pleasure,focus,motivation), and endorphins (pain relief).
Massage also stimulates melatonin which helps encourage deep and restful sleep patterns. Massage stimulates bonding and trust. It promotes deep peace, calm and well being as he heart rate and blood pressure are lowered. Issues , challenges, anxiety and stress levels are reduces and managed: boundaries start to melt away. The individual can find space to bloom .”
I discussed the positive power of firm touch which many people with ADHD prefer and shared videos to demonstrate my work with dopamine, the happy hormones and coping chemicals, the vagus nerve and melatonin … all so deeply beneficial on a physical and neuroscientific level for those with ADHD. We also had a reall lovely comments and questions session afterwards. I loved it !
Yes… poor Annette Hines is still alive after my non stop talking! What a wonderful interview we shared! I loved every tiny weeny split second! I never listen to anything back as I hate hearing myself and would probably never speak again if I did – but here it is! Happy listening! I hope I shared some useful tips. Stay safe everyone and warmest blessings to you all.
On a really wonderful note (!!!!!!!!!!) I will be interviewed by Annette Hines ESQ of Special Needs Law Group of Massachusetts PC about my work with children and young adults with autism and other special/different abilities. There will be a link to the podcast which I will publish once Annette has taken 1000 headache tablets to recover because I LOVE talking about these amazing kids, this incredible journey I’ve found myself on and my determined and unswerving belief in it.
“Parenting Impossible _ The Special Needs Survival Podcast is a podcast dedicated to giving compassionate advice for all stages of life. Our conversations revolve around the entire special needs community including those with autism,intellectual disabilities,mental health issues and more. Parents and experts (and sometimes parents who are experts!) discuss a whole host of issues facing the special needs community including raising children with different abilities,transitioning into adulthood, sibling challenges and how to effectively navigate the complex systems in our world.
We offer inspiration,support,expertise and a wide range of discussions that will help you survive and thrive as you support your loved one wth special needs. Imagine yourself having a coffee with a friend and discussing all the important challenges in your life – but your best friend is an expert!
Hosted by Attorney Annette Hines, special needs mom, author of the best selling book Butterflies and Second Chances, national expert speaker,writer and contributor to publications and founder of the Special Needs Law Group based in Massachusetts, Annette has regular guests that include experts in the field of special needs, siblings that offer stories and survival tips with a positive message.”
My work over the years has increasingly involved working with mental health challenges and issues. Right now in the UK as you are reading this, there are 10,000 children under 10 with diagnosed severe depression. Self harm has gone up by 68% in the last 10 years. (Child andAdolescent Mental Health Survey ) Half of all mental health illnesses are laid down before the age of 14, and waiting lists for CAMHS are a year to 18 months at least. PRU units are full . 60% of looked after children ( children in care ) have some form of emotional anxiety or mental health illness.
Children and young people with an existing condition or different ability such as autism or ADHD are 2-6x more likely to develop a mental health illness or issue, as I know only too well from the journey with my own son … terrifying and heartbreaking times I would not wish on anybody. Young people with PMLD are 50% more at risk of developing an additional mental health issue.
In all of this, boys are proven to suffer twice as much as girls and yet they are often too embarrassed to discuss it, let alone approach anyone for help…
So I am absolutely honoured to be approached by a very honest,courageous and wonderful man named Colin Sortwell who with the support of his incredible wife and son following a breakdown, set up a blog/website about his experiences called www.monkeyonmyback.org.uk so that he could help and inspire others. I am extremely proud to share this on my website and hope that it will help so many …..
Here is what Colin has to say :
“Hello,my name is Colin,Im a 50 something man who has at times suffered with my mental health. It seems so easy to say it now but you wouldn’t believe how long it took me to admit I had a problem and to seek help. Like a typical teenager & then man I bottled things up for years and years,always managing to get by until things got so bad that my depression and anxiety left me hospitalised for a short while. Moving forward a few years I had another bad patch that involved my career and left me with horrendous anxiety. I ended up having to resign from my position as that was clearly making me very ill indeed.
At this time I was seeing both my GP and an awesome counsellor who helped me to talk through my problems., and slowly but surely I began to make sense of it all. My counsellor and my amazing wife encouraged me to write all my issues down as a way of offloading them, and sort of draw a line under them if you will. So I decided to create a website that not only would help me offload but hopefully would help anyone else that might be feeling the same way, and that is how www.monkeyonmyback.org.uk was born. I’ve always called that voice inside my head that tells me I’m not good enough,or can’t do things, the Monkey.
Once I had started writing, it was like the floodgates had opened , so much stuff came out of me that I couldn’t believe where it had all come from. But, and here’s the important bit, the feeling of relief that I felt was absolutely overwhelming. The point I’m trying to make is that it doesn’t matter whether you talk to someone about your issues or if you write them down on paper, create a blog ,write a song etc. There is ALWAYS someone who will listen without judging you and will allow you to get rid of those unwanted,negative thoughts that are causing you problems.
Please don’t suffer in silence!
C x ”
I am also thrilled to share that I have now trained Colin’s wife Sheila in Indian Head Massage for Special Needs and she has taken this therapy back to Northern Ireland. With the knowledge and techniques they now have between them, I am so happy that they will be able to touch so many lives and make a difference. Which is ultimately what we are all here to do.
In March 2020 I was absolutely blown away and in a state of the most gorgeous disbelief when I was awarded a Junior Best Practice Award by the StoryMassage Founders Mary Atkinson and Sandra Hooper.
We agreed that the certificate should be made out to Giuliana’s Rainbow Kids because they have progressed so much within this therapy and we have used it to explore and express so emotions, events and issues so successfully.
With some children I have got to the bottom of challenges,problems or traumas where there wasn’t the power of speech,the level of understanding or the vocabulary to vocalise : the power of safe and nurturing touch in a relaxed and fun environment really cannot be underestimated. I have had the most tremendous results working with children of all ages in this way. I am so thankful to have trained in such a valuable therapy.
We have all bloomed within it, me included, even down to developing and adding our own strokes ,naming them and using them in our own stories. We even made it onto the story massage website with our story massage about the Royal Wedding between Prince Harry and Meghan… a real moment of value, self esteem and pure magic for “my” children.
Mary Atkinson visited my Rainbows and held a wonderful training course in Story Massage from my therapy/training chalet overlooking the sea in Summer 2019 which everyone absolutely loved followed by a children’s workshop the next morning .The Rainbows were so excited to be meeting Mary for real after hearing all about her. .. the founder of story massage AND an author coming all the way to see them! It was a gorgeous weekend remembered fondly by everyone who shared it. As Mary later wrote, “I LOVED meeting your rainbow kids.”
This Junior Best Practice Award is only the THIRD time to date that it has been awarded …. out of 3000 Story Massage Instructors !!!!!! And my Rainbow Kids are the FIRST EVER to receive this award !!!! Can you feel the cartwheels I’m just bursting to unleash as I write this ?!!
We received a beautiful and specially designed certificate in the post which I will frame and put up in the therapy chalet once I have thrown a special awards ceremony ( with photos of course !!!) I also had the loveliest email saying it was “so well deserved” and that they hoped that this incredible award made me happy. Well when I tell the children at our “awards ceremony ” I think ALL our yells of happiness will be heard !! I am SO happy there just aren’t enough words … even for me !
The certificate came with a treasured card which gave me such a lump of pride and emotion for all the children who pass through my hands …. it said ” Congratulations on winning this very special award. We know how much you love story massage and have been so impressed by your stories. Brilliant !”
I AM SO PROUD OF ALL MY RAINBOWS WHO HAVE HELPED MAKE THIS HAPPEN !!!!! WELL DONE MY DARLINGS !!
A VERY SPECIAL visit was made on 10th March 2020 when I had the HUGEST joy in sharing an entire morning with the”Happy Stars” from St Peter’s First School in Williton. I have previously trained some of the staff here in Indian Head Massage for Special/Additional needs, Advanced Functional Massage and Rainbow Kids Instructor courses.
We all spent the most magical, valuable, expressive and deeply beneficial time exploring massage, story massage, kids’ and special yoga, sensory and immersive meditation, mindfulness, sound therapy, positive affirmation games and empowering activities. I loved every single absolutely delicious moment. Can’t wait for the next visit!
It is with IMMENSE joy that I am sharing with you the news that I have been invited by Jyoti Jo Manuel, founder of Special Yoga, to give a webinar on Saturday 7th November 2020 from 2-5pm. This will be a part of the Special Yoga for Special Children Level Two training. I’ll be in my element !! Thank you Jyoti . I love working alongside therapists , teachers and practitioners who inspire and help drive me. It always feels SO good to reach that many more people together !
Something I resisted for so long ….. but following the unexpectedly enormous reaction to videos I made during Lockdown which I shared all over my social media, Anna Kennedy’s AKO Expo page, my Online Rainbow Therapies for Kids and Families Public FB Group as well as Linkedin (where several of them trended just one after another within the first week , to my complete amazement) I have now set up a Youtube channel. Its called Rainbow kids Touch Therapy but is inclusive of EVERYONE … all ages, abilities, different abilities and situations.
This really is a wonderful honour! I am so excited!!!!
Yes… poor Annette Hines is still alive after my non stop talking! What a wonderful interview we shared! I loved every tiny weeny split second! I never listen to anything back as I hate hearing myself and would probably never speak again if I did – but here it is! Happy listening! I hope I shared some useful tips. Stay safe everyone and warmest blessings to you all.
On a really wonderful note (!!!!!!!!!!) I will be interviewed by Annette Hines ESQ of Special Needs Law Group of Massachusetts PC about my work with children and young adults with autism and other special/different abilities. There will be a link to the podcast which I will publish once Annette has taken 1000 headache tablets to recover because I LOVE talking about these amazing kids, this incredible journey I’ve found myself on and my determined and unswerving belief in it.
