In this episode of "Raising Confident Kids with SEN." I was thrilled to have Dr. Amy Moore, a cognitive psychologist and TEDx speaker, share her insights on supporting and nurturing children with ADHD. As a professional, ADHD mum and a parent of a child with ADHD, Dr. Amy provides a wealth of knowledge and practical strategies focusing on the five pillars essential for understanding and assisting kids with this condition.
Read MoreEvery parent of a child with SEN knows the scene: you pick them up from school and are met with an avalanche of emotions and behaviours you don't always understand. In this episode of Raising Confident Kids with SEN, I tackle the post-pick-up slump, offering strategies to support your child through this daily transition.
Read MoreI'm excited to share some tips with you about how to choose the right school for children with special educational needs. As a parent, I understand the challenges of finding the best educational environment for our children, and I've compiled some valuable insights to make this process smoother for you.
Read MoreIn the second episode of Raising Confident Kids with SEN I had the pleasure of chatting with an incredibly inspiring guest, Richard Woods. Who not only has personal experience with dyslexia but is also a father following the path of special needs education with his daughter, Poppy.
Read MoreWe are delighted to announce that the Raising Confident Kids with SEN podcast is here. It is a new show where parents can find solace, understanding, and valuable insights into the world of parenting children with special educational needs (SEN). This podcast aims to ease the frustrations that often accompany the journey of raising children with SEN, while providing a platform for parents to connect and learn from the experiences of others.
Read MoreChristmas - the season of joy, festivities, and, let's be honest, a touch of chaos. As parents, we've all been there, juggling the demands of the season while trying to keep our cool. Why is it that the most wonderful time of the year often comes with a side of emotional turbulence, especially for our little ones?
Read MoreAs things start to edge back to normality, parents are understandably anxious about how the pandemic has affected their young children’s development in many areas. One of the most concerning for parents is the impact on the development of their social communication skills.
Read MoreWe are big fans of Orchard Games in our house. We have quite a few and both oF my girls have really enjoyed playing the games.
If you haven’t tried them out yourself, the Orchard Games range has a variety of simple, structured games for playing with young children. Everything from lotto to shopping!
Read MoreAttention and listening skills are the bedrock of language development and allow us to learn other skills. Learning to focus is a really important part of early development that helps us to listen to others and engage in shared activities. But how can we help our children to develop their attention skills?
Read MoreI have read several articles about how modern children are ‘over scheduled’ with a plethora of structured activities and clubs and that modern children need more time for unstructured and outdoor play. Kids can become overtired when they are engaging in too many sports and clubs and need the less structured playtime to develop their imagination, communication and negotiating skills.
This all sounds reasonable but how do you know how many activities to choose, when is it too much?
Read MoreSeparation anxiety is a natural part of childhood development. Often, separation anxeity first kicks in when a baby is about six months old and can be a relatively regular occurrence throughout their toddler years. However, at times of significant change such as starting school, moving home, a new baby in the family or having a new nanny can bring the anxiety back to the surface.
Read MoreFingerplays (action songs) are a tool widely used at home and in early years settings. These songs are a wonderful way to support early development in a number of areas.
Read MoreLearning to listen is an important foundation for later development. This is particularly true for speech and language development. Being able to hear the difference between different sounds is an important first step. Then tuning into the language used by others to understand it, learn from it and copy it. As with so many skills, starting early and building in lots of practice makes all the difference. Try these tips to get your baby engaged in early listening.
Read MoreAttention and listening skills are the foundation skills on which communication and learning can be build. So, it’s a bit of a no-brainer that supporting the development of these skills needs to be top priority. If we focus on these first, then the support we give to other areas is likely to be more successful. There are lots of skills and approaches that can be used in helping young children to learn how to attend and listen to others. Attention buckets are one of my favourites. They are fun and super engaging, plus, they work! What more could we want, right?
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Helping children to practise their listening skills doesn’t need to be a major chore. In a blog ‘Getting Little Ones to Listen’ I share my top tips for supporting early listening. One of those tips is that practise makes perfect. Like any skill, the more we have opportunities to focus on and develop a skill the more likely we are to master and maintain it. Regular fun games are a great way to improve listening.Am I the only one who feels a little like we are living in an alternate universe? Life feels a little like my normal life, same family, same home and yet somehow everything is entirely different. To be honest I have taken a little time to adjust and settle into a new routine. I needed about 10 days to find a groove that worked for both my family and I. As a result, this blog was written a full 2 weeks after I had planned to write it.
Read MoreCommunication is a two-way exchange, back and forth. When chatting with adults we are better at giving each other a little space to speak (unless in the full flow of an argument or exciting tale). With young children we have a tendency to fill all of the communication time, when really we are aiming for 50/ 50. The grown up speaks or leads for half of the time and the child can respond or take the lead for the other half.
Read MoreEarly language development is supported by a child’s experiences. The first words they use tend to be related to objects and people they see most often. By choosing toys which reinforce this vocabulary, we give children a better chance of learning these words
Read MoreFor lots of parents of children with additional needs, they find themselves entering a whole new world of paperwork, processes and appointments. It can be pretty overwhelming. One of these processes is centred around Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs). Let’s cover some of the basics about EHCPs for those who are in the early stages of wondering whether their child might need one.
Read MoreYou have been on the school tours and weighed up the pros and cons and finally you feel you have an idea of what might be a good fit. Here are few tips for giving your first choice a little ‘health check’ to help you to know if the school will be able to meet your child’s needs.
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