As we are so close to the academic year finish line, Archie and I want to say a huge thankyou. When we founded Awesome Archie Non-Profit back in 2020, we had no idea that we could not only still be going almost half a decade later, but be loving every moment of it! There have been so many incredible moments this last school year… check out this video to see for yourself ➡ 2023/2024 Academic Year.

This month though, I have had a rocky time with my own mental health. We all know that anyone from any background can experience mental health difficulties. Most people who experience mental health dips can recover from them or learn to live with them, particularly if they get the right support early on. For the most part, I am like a lot of parents and carers, I am generally able to cope with my condition and continue to parent and provide a safe and loving home environment for my awesome kids. However, this is still something that so many parents are not comfortable talking about!

Being a parent carer can be a lonely job, even if you are surrounded in love. The stress of all the massive decisions and endless fights for support weigh extremely heavily! It’s vital to admit that the load can become too much at times. Hence my latest tattoo, it’s my own permanent reminder but also, I hope, one to remind others too 🙂

Summer Boarding Course – Autism Workshop

This year we started providing neuroclusivity teacher training. For me it felt like quite a bold move! Although I have many years of TA experience and a SENCo qualification, I am not a qualified teacher, so was concerned that we might not be taken seriously. Fortunately, I am delighted to say that we have been fully booked with most educators saying the same. “The standard teacher training I received was brilliant but we only had one day (two if they were doubling up) focussed on SEN!“

Enter Awesome Archie Non-Profit! It has taken me 16 years of lived ASD experience and thousands of hours of research to gain the knowledge I have, and yet we are still only at the base of that enormous, ever changing mountain. Despite that, we will continue to share what we know. We try to keep up-to-date with the latest CPD and use this to empower educators!

When SBC contacted us we were overjoyed 🙂

UK Residential Summer Schools 2024

“At Summer Boarding Courses, we are more than just a summer school – we offer transformative experiences for your children. Our summer school programmes are designed to support students at any stage of their educational journey, blending academic excellence with creative exploration and nurturing the pathway towards higher education and future careers.

Our summer courses have welcomed over 15,000 students from over 152 countries since 2008.

Join us at some of the UK’s most famous academic institutions, whether you’re taking your first steps towards your university dream or looking to expand your horizons on an engaging multi-activity programme. SBC’s residential summer schools are here to guide you.“

As you can imagine, we were beyond proud and excited!! So, yesterday my hubby drove to the stunningly beautiful Canford school (where the SBC south school is based) and provided autism and neuroclusivity training. Everyone was so welcoming and kind and we had an awesome time. Thankyou SBC!

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

What a week 🙂

As we run through what is one of our busiest periods of our work calendar ( the other being Christmas) you will see that this blog has taken a while to create. We are delighted to say that this is because we have been so booked up that I simply haven’t the time ( or energy) to get on with it! But, here we are with LOADS to tell you so…

This half term I have been lucky enough to support the Priory school with their Forest school learning. Forest school is a child-centred inspirational learning process, that offers opportunities for holistic growth through regular sessions. It is a long-term program that supports play, exploration and supported risk taking. It develops confidence and self-esteem through learner inspired, hands-on experiences in a natural setting. As you can imagine, that’s right up our street!

The children ( and I ) have been able to see field mice at a safe/kind but close distance, pond dip, get to know the different species of moth and how to identify trees by their leaf formation. Couple this with lots of walking, being with friends and being at one with nature, the kids and I have LOVED IT! Thankyou to Mr Swain for allowing me joy of joining, I really appreciate it!

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Guest speaking at the Coaching Circle.

Excitedly, I was invited to be the guest speaker at the most recent coaching circle meeting. The lovely Dan moody, who does so much for the community in the way of supporting and teaching sport , asked if I could talk about making school sporting events more neuroclusive. Dan is the School Sport Partnership Manager & School Games Organiser!!! Obviously, I jumped at the chance and we had the most brilliant morning. I wont go into too much detail as Dan and I may soon be recording a Podcast on this very topic 🤗 but we all got a lot from our session. Thanks for the wonderful opportunity and keep up the awesome work!!! 🙏

In school support

We are STILL dropping off SEN support goodies to local schools. It’s been 3 weeks since our first independent fundraiser and we are still sharing that love! THANKYOU SO MUCH!!! We have now donated lots of goodies to lots of schools/clubs but if you’d like to see all the deets please go to our TikTok to see your kindness in action! We are helping SO MANY kids because of YOU!!!!!

Our last job of this week was to support the Priory Schools KS2 sports day. Sports day is fun but can be loud and busy. There are often speakers, shouting and clapping – and sport can make you hot and sticky. Many kids can be easily overwhelmed in these environments and so we were there to support in any way we could!

• 

We pitched up our tent, had fidgets and colouring ready. We had water, shade and plenty of opportunity to chat to those kids that were overwhelmed of just needed a breather.

WELL done Priory school for being so inclusive and understanding of ALL children’s differing needs!!! AWESOME!!!!

THANKYOU!!!!! From the bottom of our hearts 🤗🤗🤗🤗

Yesterday, Archie and I hosted our FIRST EVER independent fundraiser. I know that we have been lucky to support and work with lots of other charities in the past (and will continue to do so) but this was our first bash at going it alone.

The purpose of this event was not only to spread awareness about autism and its many early signs (speech delay, no response to name being called, tiptoe walking, etc.,) which so many people are still unaware of, but also to let parents and their amazing children feel that IT’S OK! Being neurodivergent is tough, yes, but EVERY CHILD has so much to offer if they are supported and encouraged to embrace their wonderful unique self!

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

The Boscombe Salvation Army generously opened their doors and allowed us to use three HUGE spaces to support and welcome families. THANKYOU Salvation Army!!

Check out the vid of us setting up in this STUNNING building here ⬇

https://www.facebook.com/reel/975436744022771

We had a coffee morning/bake sale in “The Sanctuary”, a PHENOMINAL kids fun zone in the main hall and a break out quiet space in the community hall. This meant that kids could play or relax, parents and carers could finally get that very well deserved cup of coffee (and cake!) and most wonderfully – talk to each other and share the highs, lows and all the in-betweens.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

We also needed to raise some money to buy more sensory equipment for the many local schools, clubs, CIC’s and families that we at Awesome Archie proudly support. Archie and I are delighted to announce that, minus expenses, we managed to raise a WHOPPING £348!!!!! 😲😲😲😲😲😲😲 🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳🥳

This means that we have been able to look at our schools and families request list, get online shopping and we will be able to deliver those support goodies over this coming term.

So far we have purchased this AWESOME lot (each one in multiples) and we still have more to buy so THANKYOU!!!

Finally, my own personal thanks (and there are many) to all of these wonderful people…

Thankyou to EVERYONE that took the time to come! To everyone that bought a cake or coffee or made a donation! It means the world to us as a family… truly!

All in all, the day was AWESOME. I don’t mind admitting that I am utterly shattered but feel so grateful and humbled by your kindness.

Here is a collection of our photo wall pics and a link to our donation page if you feel you would like to add to our funds.

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

(simply scan with your phone x)

THANKYOU ALL!!!

Right, lots to get through so lets crack on 🙂

Firstly, thanks so much for your patience. Its been a few weeks since my last post and that’s because I have been focussing on Archie’s recovery. We are now 4 weeks into a 6 -8 week journey and so far we are all fairing well.

Archie is still booted and on crutches or mobility scooter and will be until he has completely healed. Thankfully though, I am now able to care for him at home for this last stretch. 💙

As a family we have been so touched by peoples kindness and thoughtful messages. THANKYOU!

This whole year Archie has had pain and worry BUT this has prompted us to focus on the hospital, the NHS and the OUTSTANDING care that Archie has received. The anaesthetist, the surgeons, the doctors, nurses, after care team and the Bearwood ward have all been unbelievable. Archie was impeccably cared for (as were Ian and I) and so we wanted to say thanks.

We decided that our latest book, number 5 in the Awesome Archie series, would be dedicated to them! This book had now been published and is being distributed to local schools, the library and to families that may benefit.

It is a start to finish social story of Archie’s hospital experience. We really hope that it helps other kids that are going to be facing surgery to feel less afraid.

More info here https://www.facebook.com/reel/2233247243684011 🙂

William Gilpin 300 year celebration.

This week I was back teaching Art IN CLASS !

• 

Its been a long while since I have had the chance to teach in person. Founding Awesome Archie has meant that I have to virtually teach so that I can care for Arch and be at home, so it was AWESOME to be in school today. The kids were brilliant and I am so pleased to be able to watch them create 🙂

• 

• 

All of their beautiful art work will be displayed this weekend as part of an art exhibition to celebrate 300 years of the Rev William Gilpin. The whole village of Boldre (and anyone else for that matter) are invited to William Gilpin school to join in the celebrations and it was a real honour to be trusted with such a special event. THANKYOU!

• 

We at team Awesome hope that you have a wonderful half terms hols and remember…

It goes without saying that surgery is pretty scary, Anyone of us would, I imagine, feel overwhelmed and nervous about the vulnerability of being put to sleep whist strangers operate on you. Can you imagine then the level of anxiety that a child with Autism has to face in this situation?

This was Archie’s reality just last week. He has asked me to keep the nature of his surgery private but is encouraging me to write a post about the overall experience. We both hope that this will hopefully support other children who may have to go into surgery themselves . If we can make one less kid feel anxious about the Hospital then we’ve done our job! 💪

Archie’s surgery was a relatively simple one, but the preparation before hand and the monitoring after have been, for us, the more difficult parts.

This was Archie’s first general anaesthetic and so we were obviously nervous. Couple this with his life long neurological differences and the contraindication’s of that, it was a big deal for us all. I have asked Archie to compose a breakdown of the day , in his own words (this can be found at the bottom of this post) and we have created a little bit of content to help support and encourage anyone who is in the same boat . Links here…

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/QOHNmL-X-S4

https://www.tiktok.com/@awesomearchie_/video/7364688728427711776

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Here are Awesome Archie’s Hospital Hacks…. I realise that they aren’t really hacks but I do love a good alliteration 😉

👨‍⚕️ All relevant info will be given to you at your pre-op. If you follow the instructions to the letter ( ie food and drink consumption etc) you’ll be grand.

👩‍⚕️ Allow PLENTY of time for parking. Not being able to find a space near to the hospital is a stress that nobody needs the day of surgery!

👨‍🔬 Prepare your child in the way best suited for them😍 . Archie feels more secure when he knows EVERY little detail so, that’s what we shared with him. Gross but true!

👩‍🔬 Pack as many distraction aids as is possible. This means that whenever inevitable delays occur, your child can still be gaming, building LEGO or colouring etc. This makes the whole day a lot less stressful for everyone.

👨‍🔬 If like Arch your child is having a general anaesthetic, try you tube for little preperation stories. Archie watched this one…… https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_InWeAjt88&ab_channel=What%3FWhy%3FChildreninHospital

but there are many more https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYsi9WD3AD8&ab_channel=UniversityHospitalsBristolandWestonNHSFT

👩‍🔬 And as best as you can, try to at least appear calm. Ian and I were TERRIFIED the whole day but I managed to hold it all together until Archie came home then I had a blooming big cry. Archie needed us to be his backbone and we were proud to that for him 🙂

Archie’s Surgery day…by Awesome Archie himself.

I was a bit frightened when we first arrived at the hospital, but something that helped me was bringing things that I like to do at home, such as playing on my Nintendo switch.

We went into the children’s ward, and the doctor assigned us a bed to relax in prior to the surgery. The nurses came in and asked me a lot of questions, but if I was not comfortable enough to answer myself, then my mother was allowed to do it for me. After all of this, the nurses/doctors came back and put “magic cream” on my hands to numb the area as for it to not hurt when they put the cannula in.

When it was time for the actual surgery, the doctors wheeled my bed to the surgery room, and the anaesthetist put the cannula in my hand. Not looking at it helps very much but it did not hurt at all. I then began to feel slightly dizzy, then I fell asleep. Before I knew it, I was wide awake eating toast, and getting ready to go home. I just had to have my blood pressure and oxygen level taken a few times to make sure that I was health enough to sleep at home and not have stay in.

The whole day was easier than I thought it would be.

By Archie. c

I know, know……. every month should be Autism awareness month! In fairness, in our home and in all of our work, our day to day is proudly Autism focused as just part of the nature of what we do! However, Archie and I both agree that its super helpful to have an official celebration month because it encourages those people who are not directly linked with autism to have a slightly greater understanding of what life is like for families like ours. The great bits, the really sad bits, the scary bits, the medical worries BUT also the celebrations the personal successes!

This half term we decided to put our own spin on the awareness spreading.

We created a short illustrated poem (narrated by Awesome Archie himself) and have spent much of the Easter Break creating silly content just to get people talking.

We took our promotional banner on holiday with us to Center Parcs AND we left Awesome Archie badges with positive messages for other families to find 🙂

Link to a clip of our adventures here https://www.youtube.com/shorts/jx1yN_TS9No

Link to our Autism awareness poem here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Gj2bi91kYY

Living with a neurological difference can be heavy going, so we wanted to spread some joy 🙂 ANYTHING to get people talking about Autism!!!

These last few weeks have been a real test for me personally. Being a parent carer is tough, especially if you are neurodivergent yourself. I spend so much of my time trying to ensure my kids can regulate when I often need time to regulate myself! This is where my work helps me. Living my tough moments through a Camera lens and sharing these experiences is really helpful for my well being. I have no idea why, I can only assume its because the camera creates a ” buffer” between what’s actually happening and I then feel a lot more in control?. So thank you. Thank you to all of our followers, thanks for the shares, the thumbs ups, the views. We really appreciate it!

So we will continue to endlessly chat about Autism. We will share the good, the bad and the ugly in our continued effort to support the neurodivergent community because lets face it…… you’re AWESOME!!!

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

This week sees the whole world ( hopefully ) celebrate people who have Autism.

As a family, Autism has shaped our entire lives. We of course spread Autism awareness and our message of acceptance and advocacy every single day, but its’s lovely to have an official week too 😉

Archie , who was diagnosed at 3 and Herbie , who is going through the diagnosis process now, have taught us so much. Neither my husband or I had any idea about the challenges that raising our epically unique children would bring. There are so many long and hard days. So many times that our marriage has been tested and multiple questions about whether we are ” fit ” to do the job. But here we are, still learning, still trying and most importantly still loving!

So please, join us in celebrating ALL the children ( and adults of course) that live their lives in this “neurotypical” world. For the daily challenges, the bravery and the AWESOMNESS!!!

We hope you enjoy out little message to you this AWESOME week 🙂 ⬇⬇⬇

https://youtu.be/8Gj2bi91kYY

At the start of the week Archie and I sit down and make a plan for the weeks content creation. As a team, we decide the direction we want to take and the topics we feel need to be covered. Today however, something happened that meant that this weeks blog has had to be entirely rewritten. If this happens, it’s because something has blown our awesome socks off and yes , they’re still off!!! 🧦🧦🧦

Archie and I were fortunate enough to be given a personal tour around Autism Unlimited’s BRAND NEW sixth form school in Christchurch, Dorset.

Our amazing tour guide, Donna, showed us the entire school and we got to meet not only the incredible staff, but the people who have helped fundraise, design and get this project off the ground.

The school has been designed BY THE STUDENTS! Each one has had their own views and considerations put at the very front of this schools conception and it shows. Each room is perfectly created for kids just like Archie. From a fully fledged gym space, a phenomenal music room – with a full on drumming sesh (Archie loved that!) and a professional kitchen that was used today by TV legend Lesley Waters. 🤩 This sixth form really does have it all.

(Apologies but photos of the inside were not permitted, for safeguarding purposes).

Archie and I were lucky enough to chat to Lesley and she explained that she had got the students cooking a whole range of INCREDIBLE dishes which were then served to todays visitors. This means that students can not only learn a valuable life skill but may even find a real passion for cooking… AMAZING! Thankyou Lesley for taking the time to talk to us, it was awesome to meet you 😊

This SEN setting is a beautiful school that has been specifically built to offer a safe and empathetic place for students to learn.  That’s what EVERY child deserves!

It is very rare that I am lost for words, but I’ll simply say this… congratulations to Autism Unlimited!

As a parent to children with Neurological differences, it’s so common to feel that the world doesn’t understand you or your child. Today, Archie was just so comfortable. He was verbal, he was smiling and he was laughing. THAT SAYS IT ALL!

THANKYOU AUTISM UNLIMITED and to all who have supported the birth of this PHENOMENAL school!

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

• 

Wowsers, what a BUSY week. I don’t mind admitting that I am completely worn out! 🤣

On Monday we were lucky to host an Awesome Archie assembly at the prestigious Twynham Senior school in Dorset. Thankyou for giving us such a warm reception 🙏

In this particular assembly we spoke about how respect is vital for us all. How respecting ourselves, others and respecting “difference” is key to being a decent human. Further more, we shared that many of the worlds most influential people are themselves neurodivergent and that it was THAT difference that aided their success.

All the year sevens listened beautifully and it was lovely to see and hear you all interacting with us…thanks. 💪

The National Autistic Societies Annual Professionals’ conference 2024

I attended my first ” Prof Conf” this time last year and the impact and teachings have genuinely spurred me on and supported us in the work we have done for this entire year! I couldn’t not WAIT for this years conference and yet again, it didn’t disappoint.

The conference itself was an all day event ( literally 9-5) with different sessions, vastly qualified speakers and passionate educators.

We heard from Shabnam Anam, Education Consultant (DewDrop Education) Carol Povey, Director of Autism Projects, National Autistic Society, Dr Alice Nicholls, Clinical Psychologist, Dr Kayleigh Brown, Principal Clinical Psychologist, Remie Colledge, Expert by Experience and autistic peer support worker, Coventry and Warwickshire Partnership Trust… the list goes on!!

My hand was genuinely sore from all the note taking I took and my brand new notepad is now overflowing AWESOME hints and tips and contacts ready to help you all! 🌈

• 

• 

• 

Over the next few months I will be distilling and distributing as much of this INCREDIBLE information as I possibly can however , I would like to personally thanks some of the amazing speakers.

Shabnam Anam. Your ” Rewiring and rethinking the classroom for ” Neuroclusivity” was so inspiring. We will be adding much of your expert knowledge to our own teacher training events moving forward. I know that this will be so valuable to the mainstream schools that we are blessed to support! THANKYOU!

Dr Luke Beardon…..WOW!! I swear that I could listen to you teach ALL DAY LONG!

I genuinely didn’t want your segment to end! The truly shocking realisation for me, about the all to real links with Autism and anxiety helped me so much on a personal ” Mum ” level. I can now see some of the things that I have said to try and ease my own children’s anxiety have often potentially undermined their own thoughts and I am eternally grateful for this wake up call! I will be creating some snappy graphics to share based on this topic so others can be mindful of well-meaning but unhelpful responses. THANKYOU!!

Paul Micallif. Your Autism and executive functioning segment was simply wonderful. I managed to fill 5 A4 pages with all the brilliant advice you were giving. Again , this for me will be so useful for the wonderful neurodivergent children (in mainstream) that we proudly support through Awesome Archie non profit. THANKYOU!

Rebecca Duffus. Thanks so much for not only everything you said at the conference, but for creating such AWESOME workbooks and support books to help people like me 🙂 Needless to say, I have them on order and I CANNOT WAIT to put this brilliant new toolkit into action.

And last but by no means least… Clinical Psychologist Dr Naomi Fisher. I was stunned by so much of what you were saying. So informative, so helpful and so honest! I will leave this Blog with a quote from you…if you don’t mind?!

“Children do well IF THEY CAN! “

What a truly brilliant day with another CPD certificate on its way to boot 🙂

WELL DONE ALL!

Anxiety and Autism – Toolkit, tips and online support links🧠🌈

At the start of this week I was able to attend a parent support anxiety workshop provided by BCP council to better support parents/carers in their local area. This prompted me to share our own view point on the tricky navigation of supporting a child with complex anxiety and autism (or any neurological difference).

Here are some useful autism-anxiety specific hints , tips and toolkit bits that we find useful in our home 🙂

Advice and tips

Below are some general tips and guidance from autistic people and professionals that you might want to try (taken from the National Autistic Society website.)

Understand the triggers

Keep a diary to help identify when you are anxious, and what might make it worse.  

Monitor and manage your energy levels

Be aware of your energy levels after social interactions and other events/situations that you may find tiring or difficult.  Recharge by taking time for yourself and doing things you enjoy. 

Make the environment work 

Make adaptations to the environment where possible, for example lower unnatural light if too harsh. 
Try noise-cancelling headphones to reduce sensory overload.  

Self-soothe

Use sensory tools and stimming to reduce anxiety levels, if that works for you.

Relaxation and calming activities 

Try relaxation methods such as meditation, mindfulness, yoga and exercise.  

Visual schedules

Visual schedules to help structure the day and reduce uncertainty within your day.

Counselling and therapy

You can go for counselling or therapy through your GP or privately. There are many types of therapy, including cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), that can be effective for some autistic people if adapted appropriately. 

Search our Autism Services Directory for details of counsellors and therapists in your area with experience of working with autistic people. 

Other approaches that might help to reduce stress and anxiety include: 

Ideally, all treatments should be delivered by a professional with a good understanding of autism. Most importantly, to be accessible and effective, support should be adapted to a person’s specific needs. Visit our Seeking help with mental health page for more advice.

Here is a link to the National Autistic Society’s full web page. https://www.autism.org.uk/

Co-regulation

Meeting Simon Chadwick and world book day 2024.

Well, what a brilliant way to end our week. I was fortunate enough to gatecrash a brilliant day with author/illustrator Simon Chadwick in my usual volunteering spot at WG 🙂

Simon worked in advertising for fifteen years before setting up Ceratopia, a business that aimed to combine his talents for graphic design and cartoon illustration. That was over ten years ago now and during that time, he’s worked with many high street brands, visitor attractions and other design agencies. 

He has illustrated almost thirty children’s picture books, and written some of them too. He also regularly visits Hampshire schools to talk about the topics covered by some of the books and to run workshops.

Obviously I was DELIGHTED to meet him AND shared a little about what we do here at Awesome Archie non profit. I also forced the poor man to have a selfie, which he graciously gave 😉

For world book day this year, we decided to dress as our favourite book characters or a mythical creature. OBVIOUSLY I knew immediately that I was going to be. A unicorn in honour of one of my favourite quotes…

I want to say a HUGE thankyou to the team at William Gilpin for being so amazing and inclusive. Happy world book day 2024!

• 

And remember….