
Blog
Through the blog, Rachel’s Memoir The Skies I’m Under and The Skies We’re Under podcast we share the stories of fellow parents so we can all feel a little less alone and little more understood.
Click the icon to the left to access a page of useful resources that we have compiled over the years.
Hmm…this feels unusual
Hmm, this feels a bit unusual: Advice for Healthcare Professionals When Dealing With Something Rare By Jo Holmes Once again it’s ‘Rare Disease Day’. While I don't love identifying Lucy’s genetic diagnosis as a disease, I do find belonging in the rare community that builds up around the 28th February each year. You may gather from the title of the [...]
‘Same S*!t Different Location’?
Holidays 'Same S*!t Different Location'. That's the title of an episode of 'The Skies We're Under' podcast, a podcast by and for families of children with complex disabilities. It's true... as parent carers wherever we go as a family the routines of daily care don't stop because we're on holiday. Feeds need making, syringes washing, food blending, moving needs to [...]
Engage better with parent carers using these “Top Tips” for busy schools
When Government Improvement Plans or initiatives arrive in inboxes, or in the media, it can be incredibly frustrating when schools already have so many everyday demands on time and resources. We know that the additional demands you feel, unite schools with the families you engage with, who are also focussing on ‘just’ getting through the day. The government's Special Educational [...]
“Please, Sir, I want some more.”
Less Disney Princess and more Oliver Twist. The life of a Parent/Carer can feel like being an impish rogue, asking for more than you deserve. To make life good, we knock on the door of services across SEN, health and social care asking, “Please, sir, I want some more…!” I was never a fan of Oliver. The images in [...]
I’m too busy …
In promoting the 'Don't Call Me Mum' initiative and asking practitioners to #CallMe, I often hear the excuse that a hospital professional is simply too busy. It is easy in the bustle of the hospital ward to mistakenly regard the details as unimportant. Like the panoramic view of any hospital stay might include the admission date, the treatment and [...]
‘With’ not ‘to’ … Co-production Week 2023
Co-production Week In 2020, the world was turned upside down. Things once considered important no longer took priority. People's values were honed, the world shrank, and everyone had to get used to living in a new way. The world got a glimpse of the transformation that occurs in the life of a family who loves someone with complex disabilities [...]