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.
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.”
I’m absolutely THRILLED to be invited by the wonderful Autismanduspodcast to be interviewed on Friday 17th April at 1pm where I will share my personal journey as a mother to an amazing, gifted and inspirational son who just happens to have autism, along with all my work that grew from such a special journey.
Very excited about my interview with the wonderful AutismandUsPodcast at 1pm on Friday 28th February 2020.
For those of you who don’t manage to catch it, a link to it will be appearing here very shortly !
It is always such an enormous and uncontainable joy to me to be getting our very special children heard and to tell the world about how different is never less…. and actually so often more! Our children have a right to be valued,grown, included and their potential nurtured to its absolute fullest!
Autism’s Got Talent, Ruislip 2019 …. a night I will never forget and will carry with me to my last breath.
Watching my son, who by this time next year will be more qualified than the head of English teacher and her team who categorically told me that Ollie “would never achieve more than two GCSE’s “due to his autism (and who removed English literature from him as well as the higher GCSE paper in English) , reading out his poetry to an audience of hundreds where you could have literally heard a pin drop, really brought home our journey.
Each of the three poems Ollie read were met with thunderous applause that felt like it would lift off the very roof. I couldn’t believe my eyes or ears. As I peeked out through the wings on stage I could see people wiping their tears. People back stage were crying and I was crying too because I cannot believe all my son has achieved through so much, both at home and school, to become the gentle, kind, incredibly talented , giant of a man he is today.
I don’t think my heart will ever return to its normal size after this.
Ollie read some poetry from his first anthology “Lungs” about some of the horrific domestic abuse he both saw and then later experienced directly, prompting our departure from such a toxic atmosphere. He also read a poem from his second anthology “Wings” which is “a collection where Ollie reflects on the domestic abuse of his mother and the family , becoming a space where vulnerabilities and hope are explored in the butterfly transformations of his mother. ” The anthology is dedicated to me and simply says “For my Mum,who always taught me to find my song”.
Anna Kennedy OBE kindly invited Ollie to sell his books on the evening. It all felt so surreal seeing my son who I have advocated for all his life, now advocating for others by taking part in such a impactful event.
Each act, each unique , strong, beautiful human being ,was so powerful and gifted that Ollie said to me during rehearsals that he didn’t feel adequate by comparison. My heart went out to him as this message is one he has had for so long from so many. The chilling fact is that each of these kids’ stories could have been so entirely different if they hadn’t had someone believing in them. And half of them,including Ollie, almost ended up not being here at all after being driven to suicidal thoughts and attempts when their gifts went unheard along with their voices.
After the show Ollie pulled me to one side away from the crowds, and very quietly said “Mum, for the first time in my life I feel a tiny bit proud.”
Yes – I did cry again …buckets,! It had taken Ollie 22 years , a Degree and participating in Autism’s Got Talent to at last feel of worth.
I feel even more strongly than ever that Autism’s Got Talent should be on mainstream TV, played at school assemblies and absolutely incorporated into teacher training. If only they could be made aware of how when you tap into that special ability and find what I call their super power …. these kids FLY ! Thank you to Anna Kennedy OBE ,Phil Barnett, Steven Smith,Dawn Avery Lisa Robins and all of Anna’s hard working team and ambassadors for getting all our special children heard.
Following the inundation of emails and messages I received after the show, here are copiesof the three poemswhich Ollieread out. The actual footage of him reading them out at the show can be found on my Therapies For Special Needs FB business page, YouTube and Anna Kennedy Online.
Podcast from this interview has now been posted and is below for you to listen to:
I was really so humbled and touched to be asked onto Aston Avery’s and Anna Kennedy’s “All Things Autism In Essex” broadcasting on the Gateway 97.8FM Radio show from 10AM-1PM on Thursday 1st August! Gateway 97.8 is an award-winning radio station with the Prime Minister’s Big Society and Queen’s Award. They can also be followed on Twitter @Gateway978.
Aston and his family have inspired me for quite some time. They truly touch my heart and are the strongest and most motivational family.Aston has had to deal with so much in his life, including autism,and like myself with my own son, his family refused to accept the invisible cage bars of ignorance, negative assumptions and the limited, restricted beliefs of others, including professionals. Aston is living proof, like my son Ollie, of busting the myths surrounding autism and growing into his full potential as well as lighting a flame for others. I am full of awe and admiration. Whenever I have a tough day, it is families like this who ensure I never give up,to brush the dust from my feet and continue to walk strongly. This is why we all do what we do, so tirelessly and with absolute unswerving conviction.
Aston and his family have used their life’s journey and experiences to help others in so many immeasurable ways. Aston is an Anna Kennedy Online Ambassador, fundraiser, DJ, presenter, singer, dancer and actor… all achievements no one ever thought possible. He has also won the NDA Award for disability.
For the first time ever in any interview I’ve ever given I became emotional .
It was also the first time I discussed at any length the full picture of what was going on for us as a family at home against which my son’s journey with autism was being played out.
As I talked about catching sight of Ollie through the doorway where he was being robed up ready for his graduation, suddenly seeing in fast motion all the chapters of our lives which had led to this moment, I really knew and felt so deeply in my heart what a giant my son is … and I just crumpled because the love and immense awe and pride I felt were just too big for my little body !
Please tune in to this incredible and informative show where Autism is given a voice from those who really know the journey from the inside out and who celebrate each unique individual behind the label.
Podcast from this interview has now been posted and is below for you to listen to:
Words cannot express how massively honoured and beyond excited I was to have been invited by Anna Kennedy OBE for an interview on Tuesday 9th July at 1pm on her radio show for Women’s Radio Station.
It was so incredible and impactful to have such a platform from which to help the voices of the children and young adults I so believe in, be heard and valued. It is my life’s passion. It was very inspiring in itself to be with Anna whose work for autism is renowned and recognised. Meeting Anna at the absolutely powerful and emotional Autism’s Got Talent at St Ives on the 29th June, which she organises as part of the Autism’s Got Talent Roadshow, showed her heartfelt and genuine passionate care for young people with autism. It was a joy to be around such energy, belief,motivation and drive. I’m afraid I had to give her a big hug or I would have burst!
After so long of feeling like a lone voice in the dark, setting up my business against all the odds imaginable whilst walking an utterly heartbreaking,at times terrifying and often exhausting path with my son, feeling my way as I went along and fighting against everything I was being told, it feels SO GOOD to be joining my voice with others. It is very important to me to reach through the barriers of negativity and isolation that families of people with different abilities feel and show through my personal and professional journey that there IS hope and there IS so much potential to be unlocked inside each human being… including and perhaps especially those with autism.
The interview was aired every day at 1pm and 1am (for overseas listeners) until Monday 15th July. The podcast of the interview is now above. Thank you so warmly Anna for inviting me !
I was so happy to have been invited back for an interview with Bryan Leaker MBE of West Somerset Radio 104.4FM to talk about Rainbow Kids which I founded in 2016. The recording was aired at 1.30pm on Friday 21st June and then re-run on Tuesday 25th June.
Since I founded Rainbow Kids Touch Therapy and Relaxation, it has grown to spread to schools locally as I have trained teaching staff ,LSA’s and therapists . This work has now caught on up and down the country as my trainings have taken me further afield . I have even begun taking it outside of the UK which is so rewarding as Rainbow Kids crosses all barriers, including non verbal.It is beautiful to watch it grow so rapidly and to unlock the potential of every child in a focused and inclusive way.
My work and therapy chalet were recognised in March 2019 as an official Learning Destination with the Children’s University and this is the main subject of the interview. I never expected or looked for this ;indeed it came as a wonderful ,happy surprise. For me it is 100% about the children all the way.
The Children’s University wrote to invite me to apply as a Learning Destination after hearing from several headteachers about how many children were doing extra curricular hours with me exploring all that Rainbow Kids has to offer – and teachers noticing a definite difference to those pupils’ performance within the classroom as a result.
It makes my heart so full to bursting to see how all my hard work and endless hours are reaping such valuable benefits for children of all ages and abilities. It means the world to me have this recognition for my work and for all the children who have helped me to shape it into what is has become. Every child has what I call a ‘point of access’ ; a way in to ease issues and challenges,discover strengths and to unlock the potential of all they can possibly be. Many surprise themselves as they discover all they can do . It is wonderful how this self esteem, awareness, expression and focus then has a collective benefit within the classroom.It’s my personal vow that there is no child I cannot ‘reach’ .
The children and young adults I work with all keep my learning and growth fresh , in the same way that I encourage and invite them to do the same. So who knows what’s next for Rainbow Kids …!
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.
Autism’s Got Talent, Ruislip 2019 …. a night I will never forget and will carry with me to my last breath.
Podcast from this interview has now been posted and is below for you to listen to:
I was so happy to have been invited back for an interview with Bryan Leaker MBE of West Somerset Radio 104.4FM to talk about Rainbow Kids which I founded in 2016. The recording was aired at 1.30pm on Friday 21st June and then re-run on Tuesday 25th June.
