Speech Therapy with Leah

02/03/2025

https://www.instagram.com/reel/C8xQBgXs11d/?igsh=bGlxbGRraXk3d284

For those who are unaware, I have retrained as a BACP Registered Children and Young People Counsellor. Effective communication begins with healthy self-esteem. 🩷

18/10/2024

Brentwood, Essex people, do not miss the opportunity to meet Fatima Whitbread AND support the amazing Chicken & Frog Bookshop!!! xx

23/04/2024

Rhys is my American nephew, a licensed Respiratory Therapist, and one of my favourite humans. I'm broken hearted to post this fundraiser for him. Rhys very ill with Lupus, in stage 4 renal failure, and without the support of the NHS. Please pray, send positive energy, reshare this post, and/or donate via the link below to support his recovery. Thank you so much. Every bit of support is received with gratitude. 🙏
🩷❤️🧡💛💚🩵💙💜🤎🩶🩶🤍
https://www.gofundme.com/f/rhys-dunham?utm_campaign=m_pd+share-sheet&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR1tfQyLbaWjBQ6MRunU8NsANsf9SuaDqA2CGcUQx7yDgXLtGyUArla3YJc_aem_AeL1FaqI6ynIcpzeReYovVl1t6fSIf0q6Z4OHnwQITzPi2V1NnsayfrsmbAgNsmlzjzf5ilxFNx6yRim3RGfp96D

Over the holidays in 2023, my 27-year-old son, Rhys Dunham, spent 10 days in the hospital as doctors worked … Monica Dunham needs your support for Rhys Dunham

20/10/2022

I don't think I've cried this much reading a book in ages!
This is a must-read for parents of children who stammer, for teachers, and children who are being bullied. So much love for this book!!!
❤️🧡💛💚💙💜🤎🖤

05/10/2022

The MYTHS of EHCPs and IDPs...

We hear all sorts of myths when local authorities/schools refuse to assess or refuse to issue plans (whether they're Education Health Care Plans in England or Individual Development Plans in Wales).

What other myths have you heard or been told?

Would you like to know the truth about your legal rights? When you know the truth you can effectively advocate for your child... Until then it feels like you're wading through sludge!

Here are some amazing online and in-person workshops that will benefit you enormously as parents, teachers, SENCos, ALNCos, social workers etc...

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿04th October - Online
Parent & Teacher Guide to IDPs (Wales)
BOOK HERE: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/327111438117

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿13th October - In-Person (Derby)
How to Write your EHCP Application - with letter checking service!
BOOK HERE: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/406791653787

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿25th October - Online
The Parent & Teacher Guide to EHCPs
BOOK HERE: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/352886622387

☎️Request a call from our advice team by completing the contact form here: https://sunshine-support.org/advice-and-support/

05/10/2022

Foil blankets are great fun!!

30/09/2022

Love local businesses!!!

29/09/2022

When should you talk to your children about racism? Very young children can understand fairness. Parenting Smart's tips help you plan what to say.

24/09/2022

Can we talk?

I want you to keep something in mind when you read my posts about being a healthy parent.

Let's take a deep breath.

Parents who are doing the work to break cycles are trying to teach emotional regulation while they're also learning to emotionally regulate in real time.

They didn't have a model for this. They didn't have someone who taught them how to use healthy coping skills and calm their own anger before attending to their children's big feelings. They didn't have an emotionally mature parent with healed wounds guiding them.

At the same time they are trying to teach their children about their feelings, they are desperately trying to unlearn everything they've been taught about parenting, feelings, processing, reacting, conflict, ego and more.

We ALL want to be a healthy parent.
We ALL want the very best for our children.
We ALL want no regrets.

For cycle breakers.....well......it's just a bit messier for us.

We can use this knowledge to be in curiosity and compassion for ourselves.....AND for our own parents.

This awareness can help us create a soft space for our parent guilt....our regrets.....our deepest wish for a do over.

Being a cycle breaker is not the easy path.
We are going to make mistakes.

Be easy with yourself....so much of this is rooted in your ability to be accountable. Your ability to raise your awareness to a level where you can see yourself clearly and how that might feel to your children.

I know you didn't know. How could you?

But now you do......so let's do something with it.

Let's use it to make sure our children aren't having to teach and learn all at once when it's their turn to parent.

Staying in shame and blame only keeps the cycle in motion. We are here to break cycles not help them along.

So....please use my words for awareness.
Use them for accountability.
Use them to create an a-ha moment.

But please.....please don't use them to compound your guilt about mistakes made as a result of how you grew up.

We are here to move forward, not ruminate over the past.

Use your curiosity and compassion as lights to where you are headed.

We are all here walking beside you as you become who you needed as a child.

23/09/2022

Please ask. It's good to talk. 💜

Michelle West, the co-founder of the Sam West Foundation and longstanding Place2Be supporter, advises on how to recognise and approach someone experiencing suicidal thoughts.

22/09/2022

MYTH:-

It’s just a speech delay! They’re being lazy! Don’t worry, they’ll catch up in their own time! Their sibling’s talking for them !

REALITY:-

Verbal dyspraxia/apraxia is a neurological speech disorder. People with verbal dyspraxia/apraxia have difficulty making the precise movements required for speech but there is no evidence of nerve or muscle damage. They have difficulty producing individual speech sounds and sequencing sounds together in words. This makes their speech unintelligible even to family members. There is no quick fix. Children with verbal dyspraxia/ apraxia will have to have years of specialist, intensive speech therapy with a speech and language therapist to have any chance of improving their speech. Learning to talk is a very slow process.

For the majority of us, our speech will become intelligible but even then we can be left with speech sound errors and word finding difficulties making our speech seem disjointed.

Verbal dyspraxia/apraxia is a diagnosis that can stand alone or co- occur with many diagnosis’. It is not known by any other name like tongue tie, speech delay or laziness to name just a few I’ve heard.

There is no cure although as we grow older we find coping strategies, we learn to live with and embrace our differences. Verbal dyspraxia/apraxia is a very real, life long neurological speech disorder that many people live with.

20/09/2022

Parenting Smart offers practical advice for parents and carers of children aged 5-11. All of our content is created by Place2Be's parenting experts. It's based on evidence and their experiences working with children, young people and their families.