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.
Children shouldn’t come first
I’ve heard it said, that children come first. We say it in lots of different ways; ‘It's the kids that matter.’ ‘You need to do what’s best for the children.’ Although I am passionate about the rights of children and their well-being, in our family at least, children don't come first. I have come to see that it is an [...]
The truth will set you free?
The glare of the theatre lights warmed my skin yet my body shook. The cesarean section was about to start. Everyone was poised, ready to carry out their designated duties yet I felt inadequate and out of my depth. I’d been in this environment before but this was different. Suddenly I wasn’t a face amongst the milieu of professionals [...]
Learning to cope with the staring stranger
It’s the summer holidays. It has rained a whole of two days and siblings around the country are complaining about the most mundane things. Like, “MUM! He’s looking at me funny. Tell him to stop." My eldest brother used to complain I breathed too loudly whilst he was watching the TV. He certainly used to stare at me in a [...]
I’m so not inspirational, but I know people who are.
In our family, we have sorry rules. Sounds up tight, I know, but wanted 'sorry' to be meaningful and helpful, not flippant and reactive. Sorry was being said too easily without thought and was quickly becoming meaningless. The sorry rules are simple and I stole them from Cuppacocoa parenting blog about A better way to say sorry. They involve four [...]
7 Ways to get the Best out of your Professional
Getting the best out of your professional is the title of a workshop I developed for parents like me who have children with additional needs. Some people, particularly practitioners, may wince at the title. Yet families like mine are often referred to as clients, case-load or service-users. Seeing the table turned shines an interesting light on how impersonal and [...]
“Never feed your son again.”
“Our recommendation is that you never feed your son orally again.” These words were spoken to me as I sat wedged along a corridor at Great Ormond Street Hospital. No box of tissues. No comfortable sofa. Less than ten words were used to inform me that my son would never eat another birthday cake, enjoy a sunny-day ice-cream [...]