I’m so SO happy to be invited along to an interview with Autism And Us Podcast – Player FM on July 19th in London. What a valuable and wonderful opportunity to share my journey with my son and to bring realistic hope ,education and awareness. Let’s bust a few of those restrictive and limiting myths ! I’m counting the days !
“Autism and Us is an honest and relatable podcast around the topic of autism. Each eisode invites a parent or close family member of someone with autism to share their story”. With guests such as Kathy Lette who have been featured on here with their real and heartwarming stories ,I hope my little feet will be able to follow in such big footsteps ! Whoever we are we all need to keep joining our voices together until these children and young adults are heard, valued and included.
It was with much thought, consideration and responsibility that I recently accepted an invitation to write for Melanie Sykes’ The Frank Magazine, to be interviewed about my personal life and journey .
As such an ordinary woman, I at first wondered why me, why me to be interviewed for such an impactful piece ?! After some thought I decided that is exactly BECAUSE I am just a regular person that my story could bring such real hope to the average woman. Part of the article touches briefly on having a child on the autism spectrum but it is mainly concerned with the personal background against which I had to build a life. For what happened to me happens daily to countless thousands of people and crosses all backgrounds, cultures and incomes. Whilst there is a great deal of hilarity, magic, ingenuity and tenacity in my story, there is also the horror and heartbreak of domestic violence,neglect and abuse ; so the responsibility in sharing what happened to us had to be carefully considered. Names have been omitted or changed – not because I had to – but because this is a story to bring achievable escape to potentially so many – and is not a story of pity, glory or sensationalism.
The four page interview will be appearing in the October/November 2020 issue of The Frank Magazine . This issue focuses on relationships and Women’s Aid will also be featured. I am so hoping that between us we can bring solid hope,advice and support.
I have heard tell that if one single pebble on your path was changed, your whole future would be different. In my work I hope I am that one positive pebble to children and young adults who feel they have no voice and no value. I understand how that feels both through my journey with my son with autism and through my own life, albeit in a different capacity. If doing this interview helps to change the life of just a handful of people or help others spot the signs and get out early, then I wouldn’t change a single pebble I have walked on my extraordinary journey.
I shall post the link to the article here when it is published. My deepest thanks to Melanie Sykes and Millie Cooper, ( Melanie’s business partner for The Frank Magazine ) for giving me this incredible opportunity to bring hope and practical positives to so many from a platform I could never have imagined.
No monies were received for this interview. It is with hope that in sharing some of my story others out there can feel that there is always a way out and forwards.
“British TV Presenter and model Melanie Sykes has launched Frank Magazine with co-founder Caroline Beau de Lomenie. Frank is an online magazine ( although it can be ordered in hard copy ) and it is aimed at women over the age of 40. It covers fashion, beauty, travel,lifestyle,motoring, psychology and relationships, health and wellbeing ,culture, interviews with inspiring personalities, along with news, reviews,on books,movies, theatre and more.
All models across the title will be aged 40+ and Frank has selected top expert contributors to share their knowledge and expertise to nourish as inspire curious and questioning mature minds “.
On April 25th an article I wrote about my journey and work with my absolutely inspiring and phenomenal son with autism appeared on the website for Anna Kennedy Online !!
Anna Kennedy OBE is the founder of the charity “with a big heart , that raises autism awareness like no other mainstream charity” . She is dedicated to raising awareness about autism through her tireless work , events such as Autism’s Got Talent, her radio show as well as ceaseless campaigning ; bringing a voice to those who so often get overlooked. She is a lady absolutely after my own heart and it is the highpoint of my work and journey so far to be given such a platform to help get these children heard and valued.
The isolation, limited expectations and lack of understanding surrounding these children and their families can often be the real disabilities. If our story can help bring solid hope and achievable inspiration to other families like ours, then this article and every minute of our journey will have served a purpose. Children with different abilities become adults with different abilities … and different is by no means less. Far from it…
To read the article, please click here to visit the Anna Kennedy Online website.
I very much looked forward to and thoroughly enjoyed my interview with West Somerset Radio 104.4 at 1pm on Wednesday 20th February. It was lovely to be sharing my work and journey close to home . I have been invited back again so watch this space !!
To listen to the interview in full, please use the audio player below. This was aired on the 16th February 2019 on BBC Somerset hosted by Simon Parkin.
As part of the Exmoor Book Festival over the weekend of 16th-17th February 2019 I shall be on the BBC Somerset Radio Saturday Breakfast Show from 8.30am!
I am so thrilled to be given such a wonderful opportunity to talk about the differently-abled children and young adults I work with and my work with mental health,which has hit crisis levels in recent years. It is such a great chance to give this very important part of our population a voice – a much needed voice. And to talk about my book and the journey it took to write of course!
I was delighted to have an article about my professional work and personal journey with autism featured in the December 2017 issue of the Complementary Medical Association magazine. Please click here to read more.
I am delighted to announce one of my articles, ‘Successful Indian Head Massage for People with Special Needs,’ has been published on the Autism Parenting Magazine’s website and can be found in the Jun 2017 issue . I am really proud to have been a part of this absolutely wonderful and very valuable publication that does such important work. To view my article, please visit the Autism Parenting Magazine’s website here.
I am so very thrilled to be featured in the August 2017 issue of Somerset Life , part of the MediaClash magazine group , following the interview for BBC Radio and the recent national press coverage about the journey with my own son as I continue to raise awareness about these beautiful and wonderful and ABLE children and young adults.
As a Somerset girl this feels very special! There was just one error (rectified in the following issue ) : the photograph is of myself with a student in one of my schools, and not my son Ollie as stated.However it is a lovely, lovely article and I’m a happy and proud little Somerset lady who is just honoured to have my work featured. Please click on the image below to see my feature on page 18 of the Somerset Life August edition. Alternatively, please click here to see the entire edition.
I’m very happy indeed to have my work featured in a full page article in Closer magazine for the 9-15th September 2017 issue !!
I have been really honoured to have written for – and been interviewed for – some truly prestigious specialist publications and now my message and work for these amazing children and young adults is hitting the mainstream press too . To think that my work could help and touch so many in this way, to help and alleviate /ease issues and challenges and to help a child bloom as they should , just makes me realise why I work all the hours I do and why these wonderful young people – these seeds of our future – will always be worth it .
The article says I am a mum of one rather than four but it is a really lovely article . Actually I often feel I am like a mum to hundreds and I hope as my work spreads that those numbers will touch the thousands ! A lovely feeling !!
I’m hoping to have the link sent to me in due course but for now I am just so excited I hope these photos will do … I will ask my delicious ( and very patient ) website guru Chris to help me upload this as soon as I have it !
I’m very proud to have my work featured in the June 2017 issue of Autism Parenting magazine. You can read my article by clicking here – my article begins on page 40!
As part of the Exmoor Book Festival over the weekend of 16th-17th February 2019 I shall be on the BBC Somerset Radio Saturday Breakfast Show from 8.30am!
