Our SENDcast Podcast recording.
So, we usually try to take you through our blog on a fairly accurate timeline however, this one, I simply can’t… we are just too excited!!
Our regular readers and followers will know that one of the highlights of our year is attending and filming at the TES SEND show in London. We have done this for a good few years now and genuinely love it! It was back in 2023 that we met two lovely guys, Dale and John at the SENDcast stand.
They enthusicatically told us all about their podcast that focuses solely on neurodivergency. Having apoplogised for not knowing anything about this, I promised that we would follow them online and listen to the odd podcast now and then.
WOW was I undersimating how much this chance meeting would literally change not only our family life, but also our career path too?!
Archie and I have always stated that our aim, as a small non-profit is to advocate, celebrate and educate. Our work is constantly evolving, having started by writing five childrens books to support familes and schools. We are always trying to raise money for charites that are close to our hearts and more recently, have provided a FREE “back to basics” school staff training option. It’s this most recent shift that we thank the SENDcast team.
The listening hours of podcasters with INCREDIBLE knowledge, experience, on paper qualifications and real life testimonies that are available to us for FREE, is astonishing.
Can you imagine our elation then, when Dale Pickles (who I will forever remember as Dave Piddles, a story for him to tell 😉 ) asked if Archie and I would like to record our very own?! (I recieved that message whilst sat on an open top bus in central London and genuinely screeched which, unsuprisingly unnerved a few tourists, sorry about that! )
OBVIOUSLY the answer was YES, YES, YYYEEESSSSSS!!!!!! So yesterday was the day that we hit the M3 and spent the day with Dale at the SENDcast recording studios.
Although Archie is no stranger to being interviewed (he has done radio and local news in the past) this was his first SOLO (with me sat alongside, at his request) lengthy interview. Dale and Arch spoke about his own personal insight and sad past experiences and approached as a true professional! I was beyond proud of how calm and measured he handled it. He was way cooler than me… at all times 😉
Here is a link to a short vid of our truely AWESOME day, if you wanna check it out.
https://www.facebook.com/reel/968868395290893
We will of course keep you updated as to when we air, but I know that Archie’s will be first…. QUITE RIGHT TOO!!!!
Our ED- Psych success
One of the facets of our work (one that we are very proud of) is supporting families to navigate a really tricky SEN system. We do this either in a “getting evidence together for potential diagnosis” way or a “breaking down the EHCP process and the legislation behind that” POV.
This week, one of our AWESOME students finally got that much needed and LONG awaited Educational Psychologist in-school review. For anyone that has even tried to get started on the autism diagnosis pathway will testify, that THIS WAS HUGE!
We want to thank the wonderful (unnamed for obvious reasons) family and their primary school for trusting us with such an important task. We cannot wait to hear the outcome of that assesment 🙂
And finally our new work expericence student.
Our third son Herbie is like so many children that we support on a daily basis.
He is awaiting his own NHS assesment for what we believe will be an AuDHD diagnosis. As parents, we respected his original decision to not go down the formal diagnosis route (even though we explained that we believe a diagnosis brings more clarity on your own identity and better future mental health). However, here we are in year 9 of mainstream senior and Herbie has decided that it is now the right time to offically “name” those wonderful differences.
Herbie finds mainstream senior really tough. Not the academic side I might add. It’s the social expectations, the noise, the eye contact, the uniform, the rigidity etc., His school SEN team are doing wonderful things with him. We are so grateful for everything that they put in place to support him. However, there are still many days whan he simply cannot face another school day, even with all of the amazing adaptations they have put in place for him.
As an educator myself, I know first hand that every day counts and so I made a suggestion to him that he unbelievably took me up on. If you can’t do work at your school, come and work in mine! He is now (on occasion) my work experience student working with me in the schools that we support.
Herbie would like to be a geography teacher when he is older and so watching him support a young, fellow autistic student was simply wonderful. Who knows, this may lead to something great in his future! WELL DONE HERBIE!
As always, thanks for reading and here are some relevant links from today’s blog.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/3650909864922453 – Our FB support group
https://www.tiktok.com/@awesomearchie_
https://www.linkedin.com/in/awesome-archie-018935217/
