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Hello from The Yallops!
I'm Bethan and I’m married to my wonderful husband, Josh. We live in Horsley Woodhouse with our three sons. Toby is six, Jasper is two and we have Billy who is 18 months.
In our family we have two children with very special brains. Toby and Jasper both have Autism.
I’m always telling Toby that he has a special brain and that’s why he thinks and feels a bit differently to his friends. Having children with additional needs comes with lots of challenges but I feel truly blessed to be on this journey we call life with them.
I wanted to share with you some key places and organisations that have truly been life-changing for me and my family.
Special Friends is a small charity supporting children with additional needs and their families in Belper and the neighbouring areas. I have made wonderful friends with other superhero SEND parents through this group and found support and comfort in Special Friends.
As a SEND parent, some days can feel lonely and overwhelming but this group introduced me to other wonderful families who completely get what our daily family life is like and it’s invaluable.
They also have coffee mornings for parents and children and put on get togethers/family fun days.
Infinite Wellbeing is a community centre in Heanor and their aim is to create a safe space with something for the whole community to enjoy. And this is exactly what they do. They have a lovely community cafe and a wonderful role play space for the children. They have so many other wonderful things on too, and really bring the community together with classes, support groups and wellbeing programmes.
Finding this space has been a complete game changer for my family. I have never met such kind people. Taking the boys out on my own can often be challenging due to the difference in Jasper and Toby’s behaviours. Every time I come to Infinite Wellbeing, I feel at ease. The staff know my boys by name and the children can play safely and happily.
SEN-Fit are a fitness, health and wellbeing service for those who want a little more support or have SEND. They run support sessions for SEND parents, courses and workshops. They do lots for SEND children including 1:1 sessions and holiday clubs.
Toby has had 1:1 sessions where he did exercises and learnt about his emotions. He also goes to their holiday club which he absolutely loves. School holidays can be really hard for SEND children since change in routine can be hard for them. Accessing the holiday club has been fantastic for Toby.
I have also had support from them and been to some of the courses they’ve put on.
Autism is more known about now than it used to be but we have still faced judgement and ignorance when visiting places or out and about.
April is Autism Awareness month so I invite you to find out more about Autism and other disabilities too. This page called What is Autism on the National Autistic Society website is a brilliant place to start.
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