I believe that world changing action will only result when all sectors of society are given license and opportunity to be heard, not just the educated or elite. Because everybody matters. I speak personally and passionately from an extraordinary experience of life. Thinking differently allows innovation, acting differently unlocks potential, offering opportunities creates fulfilment, with improbable unlikely unexpected outcomes . This … Read More
If it needs doing…
As we reflect on some incredible things that have happened these past few months, I wanted to share this brilliant article that was first published in the Winter 2023 edition of Animated, and is reproduced by permission of People Dancing. All Rights Reserved. See www.communitydance.org.uk/animated for more information. Reflections on a decade of DanceSyndrome In November 2022, North-West based inclusive dance charity … Read More
The last 12 months of an extraordinary ordinary life
For us it’s normal. It’s what we do, it’s who we are. For others who know what it’s like to live with a learning disability, or care for and support someone with a learning disability it, we’re told it’s an extraordinary ordinary life. Jen was written off at birth by the medics. She wasn’t valued. From the off she was … Read More
The journey of inclusion
We are all on a journey through life. Inclusion, or the lack of, affects every person in different ways, likewise social exclusion which can be a lonely life sentence where the recipient is deemed guilty without trial and having committed no crime. We develop and change as the years roll by moulded by our experiences, opportunities, exposure. As children we … Read More
The business of changing lives with DanceSyndrome
We’re in the business of changing lives. Ever since our daughter was written off at birth as having nothing to offer society we’ve not stopped changing perceptions of what’s possible. Earlier this year she received a British Empire Medal in the King’s birthday honours list. The organisation we created to support our daughter, Jen, who has Down’s syndrome, to dance … Read More
Putting the care back into social care isn’t difficult
I’m no psychologist but why on earth do we continue to give people with learning disabilities and their families such an incredibly tough time? Most people with learning disabilities are born with learning disabilities. Others acquire learning disabilities through accidents, notably brain injury. No one chooses to have learning disabilities. But it happens. It can happen to anyone, or impact … Read More
What does freedom mean to you?
For most of us freedom is taken as a given. It is assumed that unless you have committed offences punishable by imprisonment, that we are free to be our own person. If we accept that every person is a human being with equal human rights, then we all have the self same right to freedom. As we are all unique … Read More
Co-production – a long and winding road towards undreamt riches!
Without realising it, it seems that Malcolm and I have been practicing co-production all our lives, supporting each other to be the best that we can be. With the arrival of Jen and her unexpected learning disabilities in the form of Down’s syndrome, she was naturally embraced into the same cultural norm. I’ve always sought to do my best as … Read More