Rare Disease Day 2014: the largest awareness campaign ever, what’s next?
I’ve been involved in the recognition and celebration of Rare Disease Day, which is today, for the past five years. The main objective of the day is to raise awareness …
Category: Columnists
Top tips for preparing for medical appointments
Elizabeth writes… It can be daunting going to any appointment. I see myself as relatively level-headed and as a speech therapist, have lots of experience talking to different professionals. However, …
The child inside: Do we need to label disability?
As this Valentine’s Day approached, I began thinking about how much we all love all our children equally. How we wouldn’t change a single hair on the heads of those …
My son has autism! Is anyone listening?
Hello…can you hear me? Are you listening? I mean really listening? How often do we really listen to each other? I don’t mean just hearing someone speak and then waiting …
The parents working to find a cure for deadly Sanfilippo syndrome
Jonah was born in 2008 to excited parents in New York City. But at his first year check up, his pediatrician noticed his head circumference was large for his age. …
The Disability Abortion Lie – when choice seems like no choice
It’s easy to assume that the moral dilemma of whether to abort your unborn baby that you’ve learned has a disability, is confined to a shouty debate between pro-choicers on …
How to communicate successfully with children with unclear speech
Both Helen and I specialise in working with children with phonological or speech sound production difficulties. According to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD), 8-9% of …
Celebrate the small smile when working with vulnerable children
In his daily work our columnist, Child Psychologist Charlie Mead, counsels children who find themselves in Care or “Looked-After”. He is passionate about ensuring these already disadvantaged youngsters are not forgotten …
SNJ’s #Blogchat with Hayley from DownsSideUp!
Ain’t technology grand? Just before Christmas Hayley from DownsSideUp and, as you know, a Special Needs Jungle columnist, “got together” over Skype for a chat about SEN, parenting and why …
Lessons in Love at Christmas
Many of us find Christmas an emotional season for all sorts of reasons. Gathering with distant family, catching up with old friends, watching our children perform with their peers in …
How growing up with disability can lead to a life of compassion
We often wonder at SNJ, as we all must, how our children with chronic illness, rare conditions or additional needs will cope when they are adults. How will their difficulties …
Children in Care, “ignored, abandoned & abused”, SNJ’s new columnist Charlie Mead
Hold on to your hats today, because Charlie’s here! We are honoured to introduce you to our new columnist, highly experienced child psychologist, Charlie Mead. Charlie was one of the youngest …
Learning to spot speech & language problems from our newest SNJ Columnists
Today it’s our pleasure to welcome the two lovely ladies, Helen & Elizabeth from SpeechBlogUK as our latest columnists. As the blog name implies, they are both that endangered species, the …
The Uniqueness of the SEN Parent
Columnist Hayley Goleniowska writes: Last month, in my first column for Special Needs Jungle we explored the preconceptions that strangers have about our children, how their swift judgements make us …
School Refusal: won’t go or can’t go?
My second column for Special Needs Jungle and I am very excited! I suggested to Tania that I write my next column on school refusal. It is a subject that …
Exposing quotes that reinforce Down’s syndrome myths: The Truth
And now for a bit of mutual admiration as we introduce our third new columnist. We love the DownsSideUp blog by Hayley Goleniowski, and when we were thinking about who …
Why online help is vital for people living with a rare disease you can only smell
We hear a lot about “invisible illness” and how young people with autism are judged or stared at because of their behavior. But what if your teenager’s illness meant they …
A Parenting Course? How dare you!
‘There are parenting courses available’…The words slipping from the lips of a well-meaning practitioner may fill you with anger, shock, surprise or even outrage. Why on earth would they suggest …
Carer’s Week: My son is a young carer
It’s Carer’s Week, organised and supported by quite a few charities in the UK Carers provide unpaid care by looking after an ill, frail or disabled family member, friend or …
Volunteering: The best way to spend your summer
Tania says: We’re heading off for Italy this weekend and because both kids are autistic, we’ve always rented a villa with a pool and taken their Grandma and Nonno along …