The SEND Mum Club

47: Dora Garcia: The Travelholic SEN Mum

Dora Garcia joins me on this episode to chat about her 9 year old son Matteo who has Autism and ADHD. We discuss Dora being in denial before the diagnosis and how she feels perceptions changed after it. We talk about the importance of taking pockets of time for yourself to recharge and making sure you prioritise what’s actually important rather than trying to do everything. Dora discusses how she travels all over the world with Matteo as a single mum and what she’s put in place to make sure it goes as well as possible.   You can follow Dora on Instagram @thetravelholicmum

46: Amelia Christie: 5 Heart Surgeries in 5 Years

Amelia Christie is my guest this week, talking about her 5 year old son Oliver who has congenital heart disease, cerebral palsy, global development delay and is tube fed. We talk about how Amelia coped with lengthy stays in hospital for Oliver’s surgeries, lessons she learned and things she’s now put in place to make hospital stays slightly easier.  We talk about the importance of self-care while your child is ill but how hard that is to actually put into practice, and ways in which friends and family can support you.  Amelia also talks about an amazing experience Oliver has just had being named the honorary 35th runner in the 2026 Grand National.  You can find Amelia on Instagram @oliver_chdbaby

45: Christian Laing: Growing Up With A Brother With Down Syndrome, Setting Up Stand Out Socks & Why There’s Still Such A Long Way To Go

In this episode I talk to Christian Laing – co-founder of Stand Out Socks – about what life was like growing up with a sibling with Down syndrome. We discuss how that impacted Christian’s upbringing, how involved Ross was (and is) with Christian’s friends, and what Christian’s thoughts are now looking back as an adult.   Christian, Ross & Christian’s partner Natalie founded Stand Out Socks (you may have seen them on Dragon’s Den) because Ross was struggling to find paid employment. Christian talks about how many people with additional needs end up working for free, or even paying to work and why it’s so important that changes. All the people that work at Stand Out Socks have Down syndrome and all of them are paid for every hour they work. I was absolutely shocked to learn how rare that is.   You can shop the socks and find out more at www.standoutsocks.co.uk [http://www.standoutsocks.co.uk] and follow them on Instagram @standoutsocksuk

44: Vickie Tanner: Navigating Autism And Mental Health As A Single Mum

I’m back after a little break over Easter and Vickie Tanner is my guest, talking about her 7 year old daughter Elsie who has Autism, sleep apnoea, epilepsy and is a wheelchair user. We discuss toilet training, milestones, Vickie’s own (very recent) diagnosis of autism, and the impact of SEN parenting on your mental health. Vickie shares her journey with Elsie on Instagram @elsiesworld__

43: Liz Day: Parenting a Medically Complex Child With a Very Rare Genetic Condition

This episode marks a year of The SEND Mum Club podcast. Thank you so much for listening! Liz Day is my guest this week, talking about her 4 year old son Henry who has the CASK gene mutation, an extremely rare genetic condition that affects boys much more severely than girls. We discuss the bleak outcome they were told to expect in terms of life expectancy and how Henry has already proved the doctors wrong. Liz talks about going back to work and how she manages that alongside Henry’s needs. We discuss how hard it is to give over some of Henry’s care to carers and the difficulty in finding peer support when his condition is so rare in boys. Liz mentions the Unique charity as a good resource if you’d like to learn more about Henry’s condition https://rarechromo.org/disorder-guides/ [https://rarechromo.org/disorder-guides/] You can find Liz on Instagram @medical_mumma_kickingcask