Journey Skills Podcast

With perseverance many great things can be achieved.  Sarah is living proof of this with her son Jacob, who has Asperger's.  In this two part podcast we will hear how Sarah guided Jacob through school and gave him the skills to succeed in quite a demanding job.  This really is a success story that is inspiring and one we would all be happy with for our own sons and daughters. In this first part, we hear how Jacob had difficulty coping at school in the beginning, and how Sarah took the unusual step of volunteering to be his 1:1 support in the classroom during his primary school education (ages 5-11).  From this Sarah gained a unique perspective on the classroom, and she used this knowledge to teach and model all the skills that come more naturally to most children.  She is honest about both the lows and highs, and the challenges she and her son faced as Jacob gradually became a successful teenager. His high school years also had its difficulties, but he did graduate with A levels (the highest qualification tak

Matching clothes to the occasion is a challenge for us all. This week Elika Gibbs, owner of Practical Princess, is here to help.  She professionally advises her clients on fashion and the organisation of wardrobes.   Elika introduces us to the look book, and discusses the challenges of helping a young person with additional needs organise their wardrobes.  She believes in the value of organisation and suggests this is one of the many keys to independence.  For resources to support you on your journey visit redgiraffesolutions.com.

Preparation and practice: these are the keys to interview success. This is the advice from Sam, an experienced HR director, who this week shares her expertise on how to not only survive the interview but how to succeed. She covers what needs to be included in a CV, and discusses questions you should expect as well as could ask. Sam explains the importance of role playing, particularly for young people with additional needs, and how to deal with the unexpected during the interview. She offers tactics to help young people facing their first interviews for work and college as well as insights into what interviewers are really looking for. For resources to support you on your journey visit redgiraffesolutions.com.

Sibling relationships are never easy, especially if one sibling has additional needs. This week I talk to Julie, a mother of 2 children, about her experiences and the challenges.  She talks about the tactics she uses to make family life work for everyone and her ideas for creating a sibling bond through shared activities. She also explains why she believes it’s important to manage family expectations when it comes to being a carer for a sibling with additional needs once parents are no longer around. If your children are struggling with being a sibling, then Julie has some ideas that might resonate with you and your family dynamics. For resources to support you on your journey visit redgiraffesolutions.com.

Independent living means having your own place to live.  Finding that place isn’t always easy.  In this episode Julia, a landlord who is renting out a property to young people with additional needs, tells us why.  We hear that finding a place to rent requires perseverance and sometimes a dose of optimism.  For the landlord, it requires thinking more about the person and less about their credit score.  For a parent, there are strategies for making it easier for a young person with additional needs to find a place to live in the private rental sector.  If you’re a landlord already, hear why renting out to young people with additional needs makes financial sense as well as social sense. For resources to support you on your journey visit redgiraffesolutions.com.

Ian is an ex-police officer who dealt with incidents where young people with additional needs were involved.  He saw how a lack of understanding on both sides could often turn difficult situations into highly stressful experiences for everyone. Sometimes figures of authority lack experience in dealing with people with additional needs.  Similarly, people with additional needs lack experience dealing with people in authority.  This can be a huge problem in testing situations, when tensions are high. The answer, according to Ian, is education on both sides.  He talks about how important it is for a young person or their parents/carers to explain why they are behaving in a particular way.  He provides advice on how to get rid of the unease, and sometimes even fear, that young people with additional needs have of anyone in authority.  Ian also gives tactics you can use to make future encounters with anyone in authority a positive experience for everyone.  Ian speaks from experience.  He was a police officer of 34

Emily Hughes is an Australian social worker currently living in London. She is an expert in developing social skills. In this discussion she shares her tools and tactics for enabling children to develop their social skills, build resilience and independently navigate their way through the challenges they face. She explains how to use every day situations to help create scripts they can use again and again. Emily also talks about the roles of family, extended family and mentors to aid this. Information on resources which can be used at home are given as well as general advice on how to embed scripts into social encounters and the importance of celebrating every step forward, no matter how small. For resources to support you on your journey visit redgiraffesolutions.com.

In this episode, Linda shares her journey and the strategies and tactics she uses to help her son, who has Asperger's, develop the skills he needs and prepare him for an independent life. She talks about the struggles that he has when it comes to making friends as well as how they have focused as a family on encouraging him to be independent. She also discusses the challenges of supporting him as he navigates through puberty. Linda also talks bout the importance of making sure that you find the time to focus on other things not just your child because as she says it is easy to lose yourself and become a therapeutic parent.

The Ark Project is a local community project in Southern England which aims to help young adults with additional needs develop practical work skills.  The project encompasses a working bakery and small holding with produce sold to local businesses.  This interview is with the founder of the project Hester and we learn about her journey. Her project is supported by Shared Lives Plus. For resources to support you on your journey visit redgiraffesolutions.com.

Debra Caldow explains the aims and purpose of the podcast and  what she hopes listeners will take away from this podcast. For resources to support you on your journey visit redgiraffesolutions.com.