In their new book, Understanding Stammering or Stuttering, specialist Elaine Kelman and parent Alison Whyte use first-hand accounts of children who stammer or stutter to…
By Vanessa Rogers, youth worker and author of the new set of books for those helping young people make informed decisions about alcohol, drugs and tobacco.…
As the UK government announces that all state-funded academies will now have ‘well-being’ at the heart of their curriculum, Ruth MacConville and Tina Rae, authors…
Here, drama therapist Penny McFarlane shares two fun useful activities from her latest book, Creative Drama for Emotional Support, that will enable parents, carers, teachers, youth workers and others to help…
In this series of videos, Deborah Plummer discusses the careful construction of the emotional environment in which the games and activities in her existing books…
In this interview, Maisie Voyager – star of the new novel, The Adventure of Maisie Voyager – takes some time from treasure hunting, travelling and taking on…
“Our alcohol fuelled world must impact on children and young people who look to us to see what being a grown up is all about. Unlike other drugs, alcohol is socially acceptable and almost expected in some instances. It is actually quite hard to be teetotal and socialise in pubs without attracting attention and unwanted questions about why you are refraining.”
“Having daughters on the spectrum has made me a better parent. I really think about my parenting, and I understand that my role is to help my girls develop into the best people they can be. It is not about me, and what I want for them. It cannot be about ego, and I think that is a valuable lesson that parents of children with special needs learn early on, but one that all parents need to learn.”
“When we were creating our Reward Plan we decided that it had to be 100% focused on the positive… [W]e were well aware of the negative impact our son’s out-bursts were having on his self-esteem, and we certainly didn’t want to add to that! And so our Reward Plan was born, and I am not exaggerating when I say that it was almost an over-night success.”
“The news that a parent has a terminal illness generally presents the family with a huge crisis. Everything about family life is catapulted into a maelstrom, routines change and nothing appears to be predictable anymore. If children are not included in conversations about their parent’s illness and possible imminent death they are going to witness all the changes without having any ‘concrete’ knowledge to use as a marker. They will be aware of the changes and know that something is very different but will not be able to form a consistent narrative. As a result they are in danger of piecing together the information they have gleaned and making erroneous conclusions.”