F**king Normal

In the latest episode of the Fking Normal Podcast, hosts Rina and Lauren sit down with Cara Roughani to discuss her remarkable parenting journey and the inspiration behind creating SEND Protect. Cara, a passionate advocate for the financial empowerment of families with SEND children, shared her personal experiences navigating her parenting journey as well as the inspiration behind her founding SEND Protect. Wanting to educate families, parents and carers with the knowledge and tools they need to safeguard their child's finances, Cara used her vast experience in the field to create a safe space to help other families. The conversation is incredibly valuable as Cara answers finance related questions sent from the podcast community about money, savings, wills and pensions (to name just a few...)Content WarningsConversations about deathGuest BiographyCara Roughani is the founder and CEO of SEND Protect, where Cara provides resources, advice, and advocacy to help families access the services their children need, to ensure they have every opportunity to thrive. Being a parent to her own son Jayden, who was diagnosed with Autism, Cara wanted to gather her expertise in wealth management and finances to create something helpful to other parents. Uniting a range of experts in an array of financial sectors, SEND Protect provides tailored advice to ensure that SEND children’s futures are secured. Understanding that this isn’t just for the wealthy, Cara is passionate about empowering other parents with her wealth of financial know-how.Further Resourceswww.sendprotect.co.ukcara@sendprotect.co.uklisa@sendprotect.co.ukwww.citizensadvice.org.uknasen.org.ukwww.gov.uk

In this episode, Rina and Lauren talk with Sara Johnson about the birth and diagnosis of her now 19 year old son, who has 18p deletion syndrome. They discuss how this led to her career pivot, as after forging a successful career as a TV drama executive, Sara now focuses her efforts on advocating for and representing disabled talent in the industry. It is a sweary, candid and often emotional discussion, peppered with Sara’s wonderful nuggets of wisdom.  Content WarningsStrong Language warning Difficult pregnancy (Amnio and CVS procedures) Traumatic BirthGuest BiographySara Johnson is a TV drama executive with a career spanning 30 years. Sara began as a script Editor at EastEnders (BBC), before becoming Head of Drama at Sky aged 28, and 15 years later the Head of Fox drama for Europe and Africa. In between she brought the A Word to UK screens and worked at a high level across the industry, while navigating parenting and specifically as parent carer to her youngest son. In 2021 in a terrifying career pivot, she founded Inclusion Consultancy Bridge06, ready to take her passion and commitment in her personal life - as disability advocate - to make real change in the industry. Sara is now an Access Consultant and Agent, having formed the Access team at Casarotto Ramsay and Associates talent agency.. They represent Access Coordinators, a role she helped to train and commercialise with partner Julie Fernandez, alongside other Access roles.Sara is the author of book series The Treehouse At Number Nine and a lifelong trustee of Chromosome 18 Europe.Further ResourcesCasarotto Access TeamJack Thorne MacTaggart Lecture 2021 - Jack Thorne’s MacTaggart Lecture - where Jack slammed the industry for its treatment of disabled people and delivered a call to action: Unique | Understanding Rare Chromosome and Gene DisordersThe A Word - BBC iPlayer

On this weeks episode, Rina and Lauren chatted with South African native Marina Dias on her life as a SEND parent and her work as an Occupational Therapist. The trio discuss the initial difficulties when you’re first thrust into the parent/carer space, Marina’s difficult experience bringing her son Tommy into the world and how her work as an OT has played a role in how she helps not only the children she sees, but their families too.It’s a joyous and very frank conversation about the difficulties of being a parent, the impact this has on our mental health and how often you face judgement and the expectation to be ‘better’— just because you have experience with SEND.Content Warnings:FertilityStrong language DiagnosisDifficult labour and premature birthMental health struggles and depressionGuest Biography:Marina Dias is South African and works as a Paediatric Occupational Therapist in schools and independent practices across the UK. She is mum to Tommy who was born prematurely at 24 weeks and spent 97 days in hospital before being discharged. In 2020 he was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy and is currently thriving at school. Marina says her greatest gift is her family who fill her with the upmost happiness and joy. Away from work and motherhood, Marina enjoys baking, painting and aerial hooping.

On this week’s episode, Rina and Lauren sat down with dad Kevin Troy to talk about his journey to fatherhood. Having previously worked in fast paced, male dominated environments, centred around the ‘work hard, play hard’ philosophy, Kevin’s world has slowed down significantly since his daughter Coraline was born in 2018. Diagnosed with Downs Syndrome, Coraline not only made Kevin a dad, but inspired him to create an organic skincare brand named after her.  The conversation is funny, light hearted but deeply personal. Kevin openly shares his struggles with his own wellbeing and how eating well, exercise and mediation have allowed him to become the best version of himself, for both Coraline and his wife Liz. Content Warnings: Strong Language DiagnosisMental Health   Guest Biography: Kevin Troy lives in Devon with his wife Liz and daughter Coraline, who is almost 7 years old. Coraline has Downs Syndrome and potentially Autism too. Passionate about leading a healthy lifestyle, Kevin has always been interested in food. During his late teens and early adulthood he worked as a chef in London, France and Australia. After the birth of his daughter in 2018, Kevin noticed that her skin began to react to baby shampoos the family were using. Upset by the ingredients he read on the packaging, Kevin used his chef know-how and vast knowledge in food combinations to create an organic, natural and vegan skincare brand, launching Coraline Skincare in 2020.  Resources: https://www.downs-syndrome.org.uk https://smallsteps.org.uk/ The Untethered Soul: A journey beyond yourself, Michael A Singer The Surrender Experiment, Michael A Singer Tapping with Brad Yates on Youtube 

In this episode, Rina and Lauren talk with Julia Marsan about her experience in supporting her disabled daughter Nicole in the transition to adulthood outside of her parents care and into supported living. In this thoughtful discussion, Julia shares her story of parenting two children with different additional needs, as well as some of the valuable lessons she has learnt along the way. They discuss Nicole's pathway through education and, later into supported living where she now lives "the best life, in her own way". Julia shares with us how she fought to find the right solutions to both enable Nicole to live as independently as possible outside of the care of her parents, as well as the way to maintain balance in her and her husband's own lives. This episode also contains some great tips from Julia in terms of practical issues such as court appointed deputyships and ensuring for the right financial and health and welfare decisions are made with and for Nicole.Content WarningsStrong Language warning Traumatic BirthChild loss Guest BiographyJulia Marsan is a mother, successfully had a long career as HR Director in many different sectors and although now retired, she is currently a trustee for a charity based in Oxfordshire that provides supported living, day opportunities and work placements for people with disabilities and autism.Julia was inaugurated into the special needs space after her daughter Nicole was born in 1995 and diagnosed with Mowat-Wilson Syndrome. Her son Tom came three years later and was diagnosed with cerebral palsy. Julia lives in Oxfordshire with her husband David, and along with charity work and visits and activities with their children, they both enjoy travelling the world in their retirement! David is currently undertaking a sailing adventure in the Pacific, raising money for Style Acre, the charity that supports Nicole.Resource LinksStyle Acre: www.styleacre.org.ukRound the World Bear (David's Pacific Adventure): www.roundtheworldbear.comMowat-Wilson Syndrome Foundation: www.mowat-Wilson.orgNewman Trust: www.newmantrust.orgUseful List of Colleges for disabled 16+: https://natspec.org.uk/

In this episode, Lauren and Rina talk with mother, advocate and BBC commissioning editor Suzanne McManus on her neurodivergent family. Suzanne candidly shares her own parenting story with great warmth, insight and a fair few laughs along the way. Her eldest son has a PDA profile of autism and this has required their family to embrace the concept of low demand parenting. While the benefits to her children are clear to see, it’s an approach that is not always easy to take, often requiring a lot of new learning and unlearning on the part of the parents. Outside of her home life, Suzanne is on a mission to see greater representation and inclusion. She talks about the recent ground-breaking BBC show that she commissioned - ‘The Assembly’, where a group of neurodivergent young people interview Michael Sheen.  Suzanne also shares her plan to support carers with more flexible working opportunities in her industry. Content WarningsDiagnosisMiscarriage/baby lossGuest BiographySuzanne McManus is mother to two boys and is the sole female in her (as she puts it) neuro-spicy household. Her husband was diagnosed with ADHD a few years ago and both her kids are autistic and have ADHD. Her eldest has the PDA profile of autism. Suzanne is a BBC commissioning editor for entertainment. Her impressive portfolio includes overseeing shows like BAFTAs, Mock the Week, The Graham Norton Show, Would I Lie to You and Live at the Apollo. She is also on a mission to encourage employers (starting with the BBC) to ring fence more part time roles for people who’ve had to leave full-time work to care for family members with disabilities.Resource Links PDA Society UK The Assembly on BBC iplayer

In this episode, Lauren and Rina talk with dance movement psychotherapist and mother Juliet Diener on building an inclusive community and working with disabled children and their families. Juliet shares her passion for what she does with her charity organisation icandance and how her personal family story has influenced the empathy and understanding she brings to the disabled young people she works with and their parent carer families. She is a mother to 2 children with Cystic fibrosis. Juliet’s words are thoughtful, astute and filled to the brim with love. It is a beautiful conversation about what it means to be human and connect with each other, to quote the African Ubuntu philosophy that Juliet refers to - "I am because we are".Content WarningsDiagnosisCystic fibrosisGuest BiographyOriginally from South Africa, Juliet Diener is a mother, an academic and a dance movement psychotherapist. She is the founder and CEO of the charity icandance. With a background in special educational needs, teaching and dance, Juliet founded icandance in 2006, with a desire to build an inclusive community where dance was accessible for all. Subsequently influenced by her own personal journey, it is a joyful and inclusive place of community. Juliet is also currently completing a doctorate focused on the icandance approach.  Useful resourcesCF trust: Life-saving drugs FAQs (cysticfibrosis.org.uk)icandanceicandance is a charity that relies on donations and funding to be able to do what it does. Like many charities, it is struggling with a reduction in available funding at the moment. If you can and would like to make a donation, please do:Make a Donation - icandance.Some links to Juliet’s writings: ‘Finding my way home: An embodied journey to building an inclusive dance community.’ Published in February 2023 in ‘Creative Bodies in Therapy, Performance and Community. Research and practice that bring us home’ by Dr Caroline Frizell and Dr Marina Rova, published by Routledge. Creative Bodies in Therapy, Performance and Community: Research and Practice that Brings us Home: Amazon.co.uk: Frizell, Caroline, Rova, Marina: 9781032119809: Books Two recent articles (part 1 &2) about employing disabled co-facilitators at icandance:National Inclusion Week 2023 - Juliet Diener on creating an inclusive workplace - Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing (istd.org) Juliet Diener: How to foster inclusivity in the workplace - Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing (istd.org)  Juliet is a regular research contributor to Community Living Magazine:Juliet Diener – Community Living (communitylivingmagazine.com)

In this episode, Lauren and Rina talk with teacher and mum Camilla Cook on how she left her home, job and life behind her during the COVID pandemic at the same time as coming to terms with the fact that her youngest daughter Sylva, had a yet undiagnosed genetic condition. Camilla shares her story of leaving Tanzania (where she lived and taught) pregnant with Sylva, with her husband and 3 year old in tow not realising they would not be going back. Camilla had a lot of help and support from her family and loved ones and acknowledges the privileged position she was and is in relative to others, but still it was very difficult contending with so many changes at once at the same time as processing her daughter’s condition. Camilla likens it to an Eddie Izzard joke about ‘Etch A Sketch’, where it was as if everything was shook away and cancelled and they had to start again. Now living in Brighton, they still don’t have a diagnosis for Sylva, but they have drawn a new picture and are very much enjoying how it looks.  Content WarningsCOVID 19 PandemicSeeking diagnosisAmniocentesis Guest BiographyCamilla Cook is an English teacher from Brighton. Her husband Will Kerr is a copywriter (and secretly brilliant poet), and they have two children: Freddy who is six, and Sylva who is two. As a family they spend lots of time on the beach, exploring the woods, and dancing to Kate Bush. Camilla has taught all over the world, starting in North London, then El Salvador, before returning to Hackney to help set up a charity called the Literacy Pirates. She convinced Will to move to Thailand with her, and they had Freddy in Chiang Mai. Then they all moved to Tanzania, before coming back to settle in good old Sussex by the sea. Sylva either has an undiagnosed genetic condition, or is a magical pixie sent to us humans by the forest folk, and is the subject of our conversation in this episode.Resources  SWAN UK - ‘syndromes without a name’ supporting those without a diagnosisCamilla’s blog can be found here.