I am absolutely overjoyed and full of gratitude to be invited back again this year to speak at the Anna Kennedy Online AKO AUTISM EXPO. Apparently my talk last year was “very popular” which was just so lovely to hear because everything I do, I do with all my heart and with so much thought.
The expo will take place on Friday 26 – Saturday 27th March 2021. Details can be found at www.annakennedyonline.com and I will post a direst link to the event nearer the time.
I remember buzzing for weeks and weeks after the 2020 AKO Expo because it was a glorious and very powerful two days of listening to some truly great and inspiring people.
I learned so much from them and felt motivated and full of even more energy than usual after listening to them !!
I cannot wait to hear all the amazing speakers who will be joining me at this very valuable event and I look forward to learning and growing even more in this much needed field . It is a powerful feeling to be surrounded by positive, motivated people all giving their time because they believe so much in this work.
Thank you for asking me back !
Click on link below for all information and tickets:
I was delighted to be invited back yet again by Jyoti Jo Manuel,Founder of Special Yoga, to give an afternoon’s webinar on massage for different abilities, notably autism and ADHD.This was delivered as part of the intensive Level Two Training to become a yoga practitioner/teacher for children, young adults and their families living with special or additional needs as well as being able to take it into schools and their own practices. The insights, demonstrations and neuroscientific ,proven research and knowledge which I shared blended beautifully and seamlessly with the special yoga for the trainees’ future sessions.
It was a delight to be a part of the team once again to help and support so many out there to be the best they can be.
What a gorgeous warm feeling knowing that our combined work will spread and bring such practical help and hope to so many families who just feel so lost and don’t know where to turn.
And to teachers who want to fill in the gaps in their training surrounding additional needs with so many useful tools to help build peaceful, focused, productive and INCLUSIVE learning environments. We are all in this together .
On Monday 12th October at 12.30pm BST and 1.30pm Belgian/French/Dutch time I am so,so thrilled to be giving a Webinar on encouraging and nurturing a Positive Growth Mindset in our children, particularly for those who have a special/additional need or different ability.
Hosted by the chair of this incredibly motivated ,valuable and driven organisation, Beverley Sinton , I am hoping to reach as many families, carers, TA’s LSA’s teachers, headteachers, doctors and other professionals as is humanly possible because I am quite literally BURSTING with so much scientific, neuroscientific research and proof along with very simple but wonderfully engaging , slightly crazy at times (!!), fun activities and games .
I shall also discuss how just the simple way we can change our language can make such a positive difference. When we grow a positive mindset, it gives you lifetime skills, an emotionally and socially intelligent skills set and therefore helps you to reach your full cognitive potential.
Growing a Positive Growth Mindset not only physically grows our neurological pathways and alters our physical, cognitive brains but it even bridges the gap between school and the future workplace and employability ! Oh I could EXPLODE !!
IQ might get you the job but EQ (Emotional Intelligence) and SQ (Social Intelligence) will get you the promotion.
The team players, team builders ,the people builders,the thinkers outside the box and the problem solvers are the way forwards in a future rich, global community of inclusion .
“What fires the brain wires the brain .” (Rick Hanson,PHD)
Every day our minds build our brains.
Our brains don’t build our minds.
Therefore what we tell our children is what they become.
Links to this event will be posted on here very soon and across all my social media platforms. Cant’ WAIT to see you there and share SO much !!
To celebrate ADHD AWARENESS MONTH in October I have been invited to give two workshops/webinars for POA learning (poalearning.org.uk)
POA Learning is a hugely valuable and impactful organisation which are the learning arm of the Prison Officers’ Association (union).
They are very forward thinking and supportive of neurodiversity.
Their whole ethos is about unlocking potential which couldn’t be more perfectly in tune with my own work!
POA Learning co-ordinates trade union education and lifelong learning opportunities for all Prison and Secure Hospital employees,members of associated unions, friends,family and local communities.
I’m SO excited !!
This is a cause close to my heart especially because as you read this right now, in just one UK prison alone (HMP Cardiff), 33% of the inmates have ADHD ; some of whom were not diagnosed until they were adults.
With the government still calling conditions such as ADHD,ADD, EDF (Executive Function Deficit) and PDA (Pathological Demand Avoidance) “Conduct Disorders”, when actually it is not wilful behaviour but a simple lack of dopamine to the brain and therefore a different ‘wiring’, I am very keen to spread awareness and bring positive support.
Those with special needs/different abilities are anything from 2-6x more likely to pick up an additional mental health issue. Boys are twice as susceptible as girls.Those with neurodiverse brains are also born with significantly higher cortisone levels (the stress hormone) than those who have neurotypical brains .
Without the right support and understanding, along with the continual messages of “you’re naughty”,a “behaviourial”, you’re excluded or you don’t belong, these children grow into young adults who are far less resilient to stress, peer pressure, gangs… and more susceptible to later substance abuse.
You could be that one person who is educated and aware enough to be the one pebble on a child’s life path that changes the course of their future.
It is far easier to build a child than to repair a broken adult.
It is this neurological, neuroscientifically proven research, education and awareness that I will bring to this eventalong with many practical tools, techniques,positive growth mindset activities,mindful exercises and proven massage and therapy tips.
Especially as our world deals with the covid-19 Pandemic and mental health is spiking as we try to work out the “new normal”, there has never been a more pertinent time to bring education, support and awareness to conditions such as ADHD. So it is with the most enormous pleasure and massive honour that I have gladly accepted to be part of this very valuable,powerful and special event.
My own workshops will be live on Tuesday 27th October 10-11am and Wednesday 28th October 3.30-4.30pm.
Webinar One will discuss the neurotransmitter dopamine and how our children with conditions such as ADHD,ADD,PDA & EFD simply don’t produce enough of it. I will also discuss the naturally higher levels of cortisone, the stress hormone which is the enemy of the body compared to neurotypical children. I will be addressing the language and neuroscientific ignorance surrounding ADHD from government level downwards. Additional mental health issues will be explored with some hard hitting proven statistics …. and then lots and lots about where WE can all come in and play our part in quite literally rewiring those neurological pathways inside the brain …..!
I’ll be sharing gentle but powerful massage techniques along with self massage that will lead to more dopamine, less cortisone, more melatonin and serotonin and why this is key to reducing challenges, managing behaviour and boosting focus and attention.
Self massage leads to self awareness, self regulation and eventually self management! And therefore inclusion in the learning environment along with the collective benefits to the whole classroom and for teachers.
Webinar Two will be all about sharing other therapies,tools,techniques and positive growth mindset activities which are also proven to reset those neurological pathways and grow the child to their full potential. Therapies such as yoga, mindfulness, meditation, sensory and immersive meditations, guided journeys, gratitude games and activities exploring a whole range of feelings and how to manage them will be shared.You will be BUZZING with ideas!!! I’m just so excited to share all I possibly can to grow the child, help bond families and siblings , get through those feelings of isolation that so many families with a child with an additional need feel and to share ideas that could simply and at little or no cost be incorporated into the classroom too !
I’m going to talking ten to the dozen to fit it all in !! Plenty of resources and ideas will be demonstrated. We are going to have so much fun !! I’ll put some games,massages and activities together on links so that you have it all to hand once you have recovered from my joy !
The whole event will take place over the course of that half term week and all the details can be found on their website at poalearning.org.uk
Anna Kennedy OBE and Katherine Ellison Pulitzer Prize-Winning author are two of the other speakers who will both be holding sessions. How amazing !!
This event has been organised by the incredible Beverley Nolker and Alison Manion of POA Learning . Beverley also heads up an ADHD support group on the Isle of Sheppey. She holds a conference each year which focuses on those with ADHD ,their families and the support surrounding this different ability/condition.
Some people just inspire me to keep doing more, learning more and never stopping until we achieve that true understanding, education and inclusion of those who are neurodiverse.
I am truly so immensely honoured to have been invited to share this valuable online webinar to celebrate World Brain Day!
It takes place from 13h45-15h30 Belgian time / 12.45-2.30pm BST.
This seminar will be exploring “Brain and Mental Health Awareness Across The Lifespan” and is being hosted by ADHD, ASC & LD Belgium, European Brains @Work and Equisito, with myself as the keynote speaker.
Please click on the link above for more information and to book your free tickets for this powerful, impactful, very informative but also fun webinar exploring the strengths that neurodiversity and inclusion bring to our global community.
“What fires the brain wires the brain,” to quote Professor Rick Hanson.
What we tell our children is what they become.
Autistic children , children with ADHD, any child who has a neurodiverse brain, become neurodiverse adults who deserve to bring their passions and gifts to the workplace and to feel seen, heard and included in our society. This webinar will give lots of information and practical advice to teachers, therapists, employers and other professionals along with parents and families on how to achieve this.
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. ”
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!!
SO SO massively THRILLED to have been invited by the founder of Project Aspie, the incredible Graeme Croton to be a guest speaker at this special event to celebrate World Autism Awareness Day. This prestigious event will bring together people of all ages, backgrounds, professions and regions to speak and share.
The event will take place at Somerset House, 37 Temple Street, Birmingham, B2 5DP on Thursday 2 April 2020 from 6pm until 8pm BST and your FREE tickets can be booked here.
The evening will be focusing on “People’s stories celebrating Asperger’s and Autism Awareness as well as autism livedexperience and the positives of mental strengthand Neurodiversity and Inclusion in the workplace.”
“This event will feature Special Guests and Special Guest Speakers who do amazing work within the community.”
Project Aspie is an award winning organisation who do such tireless, amazing and valuable work geared towards raising the profile of people with Asperger’s Syndrome and Autism within the community.
I will be one of three speakers ,including Graeme ,who will be talking autism lived experience and the positives of mental strength and neurodiversity and inclusion in the workplace. I have agreed to do this with the hugest of happiness because quite simply I would love to share what I am told is my inspirational journey with my son , how we fought through brick walls and endless heartbreak which actually descended into terrifying mental illness… how we turned the word “impossible” into “I’m possible”. How we both needed incredible tenacity and determination to break out of the invisible cage bars of ignorance and to prove everyone wrong. Against a very difficult background we both built lives and have ended up achieving beyond the impossible … beyond all our dreams. I would like, above all, to bring real,proven,achievable hope to this event.
Founded by Graeme Croton who had a late diagnosis of autism in July 2010 when he was 25 years old, Project Aspie was initially an award winning advocacy and support website which went from strength to strength in a very short period of time, with TV and radio interviews and events to name just a few.
Project Aspie was created to “improve and inspire people with Aspergers and Autism to live healthy and independent lives within the community.” Graeme and his team are “committed and dedicated to see an autism friendly environment in employment, education and independent living.” Their simple ethos is that Project Aspie is run by people with autism “to inspire others with autism.” Their motto is “Everything is possible but without willpower there is nothing” and I absolutely agree!
I am particularly delighted and excited because Graeme and his organisation view autism and other different/special abilities in the exact same way I do; not as a separate ‘population’ but as an integral and important part of our community, our world… this multi talented shared population where all voices should be heard and all different ways of thinking to be encouraged, included and celebrated. So many ideas and inventions, groundbreaking music, art and writing have come from those whose brains are “wired differently”. As I have said before in my many blogs and talks, this is not a “global autism crisis” but rather an extraordinary learning opportunity which we should embrace to move our world forwards: to make a difference to the future we shall one day leave behind.
What an immense joy to be invited along to the UK Indian Head Massage Community annual seminar on Saturday 17th October 2020 to be held at the Grand Studio in Brighton at the Purple Turtle Academy. Book before 31st March to receive a 20% early bird discount.
As one of four specialists on the panel for the Indian Head Massage Community UK team, I have been asked to be there on the day along with Mary Atkinson and Amy Taylor,the founders, and Bridget Prusik the other specialist team member.We are all so excited to help,learn and share with everyone as much as possible. It is always the most incredible and valuable day so I am very much looking forward looking forward to meeting both old and new faces.
Siena Castellon, one of Anna Kennedy Online’s Ambassadors is hosting an event on Monday 16th March 2020.
It is the Neurodiversity Youth Summit at City Hall, Queen’s Walk,London Bridge. SE1 2AA from 4pm – 6.30pm .The summit is all about celebrating and embracing neurodiverse strengths such as autism, ADHD,dyslexia, dyspraxia and Tourettes. She has kindly invited to showcase some of Autism’s Got Talent’s performers there and our Ollie has been invited following his incredible performance in October 2019. Woooooooooohoooooooo !!!!!!!!! So proud !!!!!!
Free tickets are available on Eventbrite
www.Neurodiversity-Celebration_week.Com
*Sadly this event has been temporarily postponed due to the Corona virus. Watch this space for the new date which hopefully won’t be long….*
On Monday 12th October at 12.30pm BST and 1.30pm Belgian/French/Dutch time I am so,so thrilled to be giving a Webinar on encouraging and nurturing a Positive Growth Mindset in our children, particularly for those who have a special/additional need or different ability.
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 !
This really is a wonderful honour! I am so excited!!!!
