[Speaker 1] (0:00 – 3:45)
Hello, this is Anna Kennedy and we’re talking all things autism. We’re live and we’re in Covent Garden and coming into Covent Garden, I’ve noticed in all the Christmasy stuff out already. Oh my word, Christmas will be here in no time at all.

And at the weekend we had autism’s got talent at Rhyslip. Wow, wow, wow. I am so proud of all of our performers.

We had singers. We had dancers. We had rappers.

We had a poet which was very, very emotional. And you know what? All of our performers stepped it up 100%.

We had fantastic VIPs that came along to support us. Katie Price again came with Harvey and he played the organ and he sang this time on stage, which was great. We also had Vicki Michelle, who was blown away, as was Charlie Brooks.

She just absolutely loved it. So we are getting ready for our next award ceremony, which is going to be our fourth hero awards. I can’t believe it.

We’ve only got three weeks to go. It must be bad doing two big events together. But now we’re here and it’s a lovely morning with Jane Franklin, who is a dance and fitness community business owner who strives to provide inclusive, supportive sessions for all children across a range of needs and disabilities.

So, Jane, welcome. Thank you, Anna. And I spoke to you, what was that?

A few weeks ago. Yeah, it’s in Basildon. That’s right.

Yeah, sunny Basildon. Yeah. So not long ago.

So tell me a little bit about, before we go into everything that you do, because obviously you’re a busy lady, who is Jane? Oh, what a question. So I’m Jane Franklin.

I am a dance teacher and community business owner. Dance has been my life for a long time. It was always like a sideline, really, as I was growing up, because I had a proper job.

I was sensible. Yeah. So it was always something that I kind of had in the background and I did it kind of full time until I was 18.

So when did you start dancing? How old were you? Probably seven or eight.

Yeah, I was five when I started. Oh, really? But I really started to take it seriously once I was at secondary school and was there every night after school.

I had different teachers picking me up, like, right, okay, come and assist me at my dance school tonight. So it just became my life, really. Then I got a real job and worked up in London, not too far from here, actually, in the West End, but not in the West End that I dreamed of, in retail.

But then really liked that, really liked the kind of responsibility I ended up having and enjoyed that. But I always had this kind of urge, really, to go back to doing dance full time. So a little bit kind of later in life, I retrained as a fitness instructor, did lots of kind of training for different companies.

And then eventually got to the stage where I kind of went in at the deep end and set up on my own. Okay, it’s scary, isn’t it, when you set up on your own, because obviously you’re in charge, you’re responsible for everything. And obviously it’s, you know, trying to get people to come to the dance school.

And it’s just so much involved. I don’t think people realize what it’s like to run your own business. It can be quite difficult.

And at the time, it was before I had children, I was, you know, I just didn’t have any kind of responsibility. So you just think, oh, okay, it’ll be okay. Let’s see how it goes.

But now when I look back, I think, oh, that was actually quite a brave thing to do. I just I can remember flying in like local areas outside schools and things like that. And I think, God, I just threw myself into it.

So where’s your local area? Brentwood in L6.

[Speaker 2] (3:45 – 3:45)
Yes.

[Speaker 1] (3:46 – 4:56)
So we’ve got a couple of different sites around that area. All right. Yeah, we’ve been going.

We celebrated our 10th anniversary a couple of weeks ago. Congratulations. Yeah.

So it’s going it’s going well. It’s taken a lot of hard work to get to that point. So tell me a little bit about the projects that you run then.

Okay, so I have two children, both of which have got additional needs. And the more I kind of learn along the way with them, especially with my eldest, who’s nine. The more I kind of learn along the way with how he needed support and what our family life kind of ended up looking like, which wasn’t perhaps what you expect initially.

The more I really had a passion then for bringing my two worlds together, really. So particularly autism initially. And then the world of dance.

I wanted a way of bringing them together. So I set up a project called Dance for All because I was just hearing more and more stories from parents and people that I met in my I have an online support group. And I was meeting lots of people that just said, we can’t even get our foot in the door.

People are just not even welcoming us to even try the class, let alone. And it’s just so frustrating.

[Speaker 2] (4:57 – 4:57)
So sad.

[Speaker 1] (4:58 – 4:59)
There’s not a lot out there for our children.

[Speaker 2] (5:00 – 5:00)
Exactly.

[Speaker 1] (5:01 – 6:27)
People talk about inclusion, but a lot of the time it’s not really. And it’s not genuinely happening. You know, people might like to say that they’re inclusive, but actually when it comes to it, you know, when it comes to the crunch, they’re not particularly inclusive.

And I was finding more and more people having that experience. So we were very open in our classes and very inclusive and saying, come and try it, see how they get on, see what level of support they need. And that’s obviously the real key thing is giving them support.

Yes. And then I thought there’s only one of me and I’ve got a small team of young teachers who are fantastic. But there’s only a group, a small group of us.

So how can we kind of affect a bigger group of children? Yeah. So I created Dance For All because now I wanted to involve local dance schools and local educational schools.

And were they open to joining you, the local dance schools? I think once I shared a bit more of my vision and what it actually meant to be inclusive and gave, we’ve got some young ambassadors that are the kind of champions of our campaign. And kind of, so I asked them, so can you tell me to camera, tell me what it is to be an ambassador?

How do you support children that come along? And for them to bring it to life as young teenagers, actually then I think from a teacher’s point of view, they were like, okay, that’s kind of what Jane’s trying to get at here. You don’t have to be a super, super expert in autism to be inclusive.

You just need to have a bit of understanding and be open-minded. Yeah, reasonable adjustments to help them. Absolutely.

[Speaker 2] (6:27 – 6:27)
Yeah.

[Speaker 1] (6:28 – 11:12)
Tell me a little bit about Charlie, who I’ve met. He’s so lovely and such a bundle of joy and energy. Thank you.

So tell me a little bit about Charlie and Sophia, who’s three. So you’ve obviously got your hands full, a boy and a girl. Yes.

So Charlie is nine. He is autistic. He goes to mainstream school.

He’s had support from day one, really. His preschool teacher was amazing. She’s still like a shining light to us in our family.

And she helped us back when it was a statement. Obviously it’s EHDP now, but back when it was a statement, she really helped me to get the support he needed when he was going into school. I don’t think people realize how key the support is early on to get someone who really understands what they’re doing.

It just makes it so much easier for the family. I don’t think I could have got him into primary school through the door physically. I couldn’t have got him there without that support that we had.

Because when he first started, his LSA would literally meet us at the door or take hand him over in the reception area because he just found the whole experience so overwhelming. He’d hide under the table. He would find it just too much.

But having that solid couple of people, they job shared, which was great for him. Otherwise he would have got really, really attached to just one person. But they were just amazing and they kind of helped him be able to navigate that first few years of primary school.

Now he still has full support, but it’s nowhere near as intense as it was in the early days. So we’re very fortunate that we got that in place day one. That’s why everyone reads about early intervention and you’ve just proved it there because you’ve got it on early.

So how old has he when he got diagnosed? He was three. So quite early, like Angelo, he’s diagnosed that young as well.

I think it’s just key that they get the support because a lot of parents, they obviously go through the diagnosis process and it’s a big thing for me when I’m asking parents all the time, how long did it take you? Obviously, it’s a postcode lottery. A lot of people can take a long time, but then they expect the support is just going to fall in their lap once they get the diagnosis.

It really does not exist, no, but you were lucky. So that’s great. And Charlie’s obviously thriving.

I can see that even by his confidence when he was speaking on Gateway Radio with Aston, who’s another one of my ambassadors. He’s another key person, isn’t he, for just inspirational young man for everything that he’s been through. So he performed on Audson’s Got Talent.

He did something new and he actually did tap dancing. And you know what? He really showed that he was enjoying what he was doing and he was proud of what he was doing.

And then he gave a little speech at the end. So obviously emotional mom and dad that were watching in the audience. But he’s just such a lovely young man, Aston.

So definitely early intervention is crucial. So Charlie’s got an idea about football. So tell me about that.

Yes. So Charlie has had several special interests over the years, but the one at the moment, the current one is certainly football. So he’s out all the time in the garden playing all kinds of different matches.

He writes all the scores down. It’s like he’s got a stadium out there. Is it Tottenham’s team?

He quite likes Tottenham, but Chelsea, Youngville, whoever he fancies at the time. So my husband is really into football as well. So the two of them go out there and play for hours on end, especially in the summer.

And Charlie is very into, there’s a couple of YouTube channels that have actually set up their own football teams. They’re YouTubers that have then created now teams that play in professional leagues. So, yes, he said, my vision, my dream, Mummy, is to have my own football YouTube channel called Autistic FC.

The name of the name himself. Yes. He said, it’s got to be Autistic FC.

It’s only autistic people that are going to be playing. I was like, OK, fine. Yeah.

He said, I want to welcome people that are just like me. OK. Yeah.

So he created the idea and for months was talking about it. And we thought, do you know what? Why don’t we just do it now for him?

Yeah. Dan is he’s in sales now, but he’s actually a trained. Yes, that’s right.

He’s a trained fitness instructor. So we said, let’s just make it football focused fitness, really, for young people to be like a really healthy family. You with your dance and him with his fitness.

I don’t know. Dan loves to be here as well. Yeah.

So we thought, do you know what? Let’s just create it for him and open up the doors really so that more children that enjoy football like Charlie, but maybe can’t play in a fully kind of fully fledged football team. That’s too much and too overwhelming.

OK. Yeah. So it gives it.

We just thought let’s give it a go. So you’ve started the sessions. We have.

[Speaker 2] (11:13 – 11:13)
Yes.

[Speaker 1] (11:13 – 13:58)
We’re going to talk a little bit more about that in the second half. So that’s great. So we’re going to be talking about dance.

We’re going to be talking about football. So there’s not that many clubs out there for our children and our adults. And I speak to so many parents and even on Facebook, they share.

Does anyone know of any clubs in so and so wherever the town is that they live in? And sometimes there are, you know, but sometimes there’s just not anything at all. So if you’re interested in coming along to talk to me about projects that you might be starting up or you want to speak to me about your family life, or you might be an autistic adult, please contact me on www.annakennedyonline.com or you can contact me via social media at Anna Kennedy One on Twitter, Anna Kennedy Online on Facebook and Anna Kennedy OBE on Instagram. Be back with you soon. Welcome to Women’s Radio Station. I’m Sarah Louise Ryan and welcome to Love Lessons Live on Women’s Radio Station.

Hello and welcome to Future Classic Women Awards with me, Stephanie Passamante on Women’s Radio Station. Hello and welcome to June May is Listening. Hi, this is Anna Kennedy and we’re at Women’s Radio Station supporting women’s wellbeing and we’re talking all things autism.

Women, the possibilities are endless. That’s what makes us different. Hi, I’m Lauren Mishcon.

I’m a birth dealer and mum of three. And I’m passionate about supporting women to have empowering and positive birth experiences. Please join me for my brand new show from tummy to mummy here on Women’s Radio Station.

Every week I’ll be here with an expert guest talking about women’s reproductive health, everything fertility, pregnancy, birth and baby related right through to the menopause and beyond. Please join us for an informative and fun hour. Hello, my name is Ingrid Marsh on Women’s Radio Station and coming soon is the Radical Wellbeing Show.

To help support women’s wellbeing, each show I share the airwaves with all know women like me and you doing extraordinary things. Women who have overcome huge obstacles in their lives who are now here with me to empower you. On the Radical Wellbeing Show, you’ll be inspired to kick away the roadblocks and live your life to the fullest.

If you’re ready to get radical about your wellbeing, then this is the show for you. Hi, I’m Hazel Butterfield, a blogger, book lover and mental health advocate. And you can listen to my show Get Booked here at Women’s Radio Station daily at 5am and 5pm.

Throughout my shows, we’ll talk about the books I’ve read, new releases, chapter authors, publishers and book enthusiasts, all with a theme and aim of supporting women’s emotional wellbeing. If you have a book to tell us about, get in touch at presenters at womensradiostation.com.

[Speaker 2] (13:58 – 14:31)
Join me on my show and share my love of books and writing. Hi, I’m Valentina Barracci and I’m the executive director of Media Matters for Women. We’re a registered charity operating in Sierra Leone and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

And we produce and share podcasts via Bluetooth and mobile phones, focusing specifically on women and girls excluded from information due to extreme poverty. We empower those living in rural areas with media that transforms how they access, own and share information. To find out more and be part of this movement, come check out our website at mediamattersforwomen.org.

[Speaker 1] (14:57 – 19:58)
Hello, this is Anna Kennedy and we’re talking all things autism. We’re live, we’re in Cordon Garden and my guest today is Jane Franklin. Before I go over to Jane, I just want to shout out a few of our finalist names from the Autism Hero Awards, which is on the 9th of November at the Chelsea Harbour Hotel.

And we’re very proud this is our fourth year and the Outstanding Community Award. Big shout out for Melanie Timberlake, Claire Prosser and Jane Lord. They’re our three finalists, the Lifetime Award, Mark Morton, Tanya Phillips and Becky Farmer.

And the Young Person of the Year Award, Morgan Smith, Jermaine Cartwright, Jayden Worthington. So we’ve got 36 finalists that are going to be traveling across the country to see us in a few weeks time. And then the winners are going to be announced on the night.

And I think we’re going to need tissues because it’s such an emotional evening. And we’ve also got some of our autism’s got talent performers who are going to perform for us on the night as well. So I’m really looking forward to this.

It’s such an exciting evening. So Jane, thank you again for coming along. So tell me a little bit more about the Dance For All.

Talk to me about somebody might have started Dance For All and the progress that they might have made. And I like to hear stories about inspirational stories to give people hope. Yeah, absolutely.

So our weekly class that’s part of the Dance For All project is called the All Stars Group. We’ve now we’ve got they’ve all got T-shirts with the All Stars crew and everything on them. And within that class, we do a mixture of exercises and kind of movement therapy based stuff as well as the fun dance side of things.

And we had one of our first students in that class was a little boy who’s now seven. So he was probably just coming up six when he started and needed full support throughout the entire class. He wasn’t able to do any of it really without either mom initially.

But then that became one of our one to one helpers. And he found it very difficult to follow instruction. He found it difficult to to follow the different kind of themes of what we are doing.

And just the whole environment really was overwhelming. There was music. It’s a big echoey hall.

So from a sensory point of view, that was quite overwhelming. And he has just performed in our show last weekend. And to see him up there and he’s he’s signing along to our finale, singing along and and taking it.

And that backstage show is pretty full on for most children, let alone a child that’s autistic and has all those kind of sensory challenges. So seeing him up there completely in his element and he was performing, you know, he was up there stretching his arms and smiling and and just giving it everything really. And to see him come that far.

And that’s been a year that he’s been with us doing regular one just comes once a week for five minutes. So it’s amazing that that progress he’s made just by being understood and supported through the session. And he now comes up with all sorts in the class that kind of give us ideas.

Oh, yeah, that’s a really good idea. We’re going to try that next time. I just think performing arts is fantastic for children who’ve got a disability for any child, really, because it just opens a whole new world.

Because I remember before I started dancing, I was like really quiet, quite shy. But then they said that was a different person from when they used to talk to me from performing on stage, because I don’t know, just there’s something about it that’s special. The nerves kick in, obviously, before you go on stage.

But then once you perform, it’s just a wonderful feeling. And it teaches you so many different skills, social interaction. It’s great for like posture, also interacting with others, spatial awareness, because a lot of our kids have got difficulty with spatial awareness.

I remember teaching the first dance class that I did at Hillingdon Manor School in 1999. And I thought, oh, I wonder if this is going to work. And the kids were always on top of me.

So I used to say, put your arms in front of you. If you’re touching someone, you’re too close. Put your arms to the side again.

If you’re touching someone, you’re too close. And then they totally got it. And then they talk about that they haven’t got imagination.

Those kids have got so much imagination and they were making steps up. It was just like, I just think that all kids should learn to dance. Singing.

Yeah, that’s great. And performing arts. A lot of autistic children as well.

They love drama because they don’t have to be themselves. They can be others. And I’ve noticed quite a few of them are really good at mimicking as well, like the accent.

So that’s the thing that I think. So if someone’s interested and they want to try and find out a little bit more about what you do, where can they find you? OK, so Dance For All as a project is on Facebook.

So that’s Dance For All. OK, so is that dance number four? Or is it dance F-O-R?

F-O-R.

[Speaker 2] (19:58 – 19:58)
OK.

[Speaker 1] (19:59 – 20:53)
And my local business shares posts on there as well as the other dance schools and educational schools that are involved. So if you’re local to us, you can see kind of. And we’ve got actually people from across the country that are supporters of that page.

And maybe doing things in their area. So it’s worth checking that out if that’s something you want to find, because there will be people that are not just local to me in Essex. There’s people across the country on there that are doing different things, maybe not necessarily under my kind of not leading it.

But they are also doing a similar type of thing. And you can also obviously add me, which is Jane Franklin. Franklin with a Y at the end.

L-Y-N. And on Facebook and Instagram. Brilliant.

So you’ve just had a show, I believe. Is that right? Yes, yes.

Can you tell how tired I look? It’s quite stressful. But it’s great.

And then it just goes back by so quickly, doesn’t it? Oh, gosh.

[Speaker 2] (20:53 – 20:53)
Yeah.

[Speaker 1] (20:53 – 23:41)
But it’s a feel good factor. So right, the football. So if people are interested in the football and what can they expect if they join?

How long is it for the session? Is it weekly? How old do you have to be?

Do you have to be on the more able end of the spectrum? How does it work? We’re completely open.

So we’ve got a couple of people that aren’t autistic but have other diagnoses similar, similar traits to autism. So we say to them, you’re just as welcome as well. It’s inclusive.

So let’s have you along as well. We say school age because I think, and some people it’s, you know, what we always talk about with autism, stages, not ages. So if it was a four year old and they were capable of following instruction with support, then they can maybe come along.

Other families may need to wait a little bit longer until their child’s ready for it. But we’ve got people from roughly about five to, I think our oldest is eleven. So all primary school age.

But we have been asked to expand that. So we’re looking at doing one for teenagers as well. And we’re on a Sunday morning.

So a typical kind of football, nine thirty on a Sunday morning for an hour. And we’re there rain or shine. We’ve got soaked for the first two sessions already.

And it’s very much about making it open to those children that want to come and being inclusive. So it’s not about being competitive. We really don’t encourage parents to stand on the, you know, on the line and be shouting at their kids to, you know, it’s very much as we’re not even doing matches or five asides or anything like that yet.

It’s simply just getting them in their physical fitness so that they have a chance to be active, really, and learning the skills of football, but through a different kind of approach, really, to your average football club. Was Charlie excited on the first session? Oh, my.

Yes. I’ve never seen him get out of bed so quickly and so promptly and get himself dressed and organised ready to go. I wish he was like that for school.

But yeah, he was super excited. What’s his role in the artistic episode? Well, he thinks of himself as like a team captain, really.

Head coach, maybe. But yeah, he’s he just loves kind of he he’s actually very good. He’s really into the drama because obviously mum performing arts and whatever.

He’s always done our drama and dance classes. So he comes across. He might not always feel confident, but he comes across as quite a confident boy.

So he really enjoyed the kind of welcoming people, showing them how, where to go and what to wear and that sort of thing. So I think he enjoys that side of it just as much as the actual activity. OK, so Charlie is nine.

He’s got a diagnosis of autism. And you told me about he’s got a genetic other disorder. Can you share a little bit about that?

And then I saw Sophia. Sophia was our youngest.

[Speaker 2] (23:41 – 23:41)
Yeah.

[Speaker 1] (23:41 – 33:38)
So Charlie was diagnosed being autistic at three. But because he was so tall, big feet, he was a big boy. He was always like a chunky baby.

Big head circumference. So they looked at a genetic testing because they thought he might have fragile X syndrome. It didn’t come back as that, but it came back as a duplication on chromosome 16 on the P strand.

Not much about genetics, but yeah. So for him, often a duplication means is seen as more of a positive than a deletion on a chromosome. And we know this because my youngest has a deletion on one of her chromosomes.

Different ones are Charlie. So for Charlie, it didn’t really make much difference to him because a lot of what we know so far for the duplication on chromosome 16 is that often they are traits of autism that are shown. So for him, it didn’t really mean anything different because it was already what we were supporting him with.

He has been part of a trial with Cambridge University and Great Ormond Street for us to share a bit about Charlie, really. We’ve been asked dozens of questions. And I think in the future, we’ll know more about that particular genetic difference.

But at the moment, it’s quite rare. Yes, we have Sophia. That’s three.

And she was born with a heart condition that we knew about when I was pregnant with her. When she came to have open heart surgery, then they found a genetic diagnosis. So she has got something that is as common as Down syndrome.

No one’s ever heard of it. Whenever I speak to people, no one’s ever heard of it. It’s called 22Q deletion syndrome.

It used to be known as de George syndrome. Often, children with de George are much more severely affected. Sophia is fairly complex, her needs.

So what needs does she have? So she has a heart condition. She has some speech and language delay, a developmental delay, and it can affect her palate.

But we don’t know that she’s not great with feeding. She didn’t really eat anything at all until probably six, maybe four to six months ago, and she’s three and a half. She lived on milk, really, for the first few years of her life, which obviously causes all kinds of other issues.

So there’s quite a lot she has going on that we need to manage. So I find it fascinating, really, that they’ve both got these very different chromosome differences. And how are they together?

Do they get on well together? Yeah, they do get on pretty well, to be honest. I’m quite lucky in that way.

She is a typical girl and she’s very headstrong and bossy. And yeah, Charlie’s quite a quiet boy at home, so he can be quiet. Yeah, he’s happy to be bossed around, I guess.

OK, so just to remind people, if they’re looking for your dance for all and football, where will they find you? We are Autistic Undersaw FC on Instagram and Jane Franklin on Facebook and Instagram and Dance For All on Facebook. That’s great.

So Jane’s going to be writing an article as well, which I’ll be sharing on the charity website. So if you want to learn more about the dance or the football, it will be all on there. It’ll be shared in the next few days.

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We’re live. We’re in Covent Garden. And my guest today is Jane.

Before I go over to Jane, I’m just going to read a few more of our finalists for the Autism Hero Awards. So the Leading Business Award, congratulations to Tom Cliff, Ali Knowles, Portland College, Richard Featherston. The Parent Carer Award, Kenny Elvin, Lisa Monaghan and Louise Quinn Flipping.

And the Personal Achievement Award, Kelly Waite, Charlotte Banfield, Martin Hunter. They’ll all be traveling down to the Chelsea Harbour Hotel on November the 9th. So, Jane, tell me a little bit about SNAP.

Now, I visited SNAP, I think it must have been about three or four years ago, it might even be longer. And I gave a talk there. So for listeners, can you tell us a little bit about what SNAP do and where are they?

Yes, so SNAP are a charity organization based in Brentwood, Essex. They’ve been going for a number of years now and have their own premises that is completely set up for kind of what they deliver now. So they have resources, they have family support workers.

They have all kinds of sessions for both from the children’s point of view and also lots of parent training lectures. They had Professor Tony Atwood over a couple of months ago, which was an amazing session. Over 200 of us all listening in to him.

He was fantastic. So they offer, they’re open five days a week, Monday to Friday, and they offer a variety of different things on their schedule. And for me, they were a charity I was introduced to when Charlie first got his diagnosis at three.

And so I went to their preschool sessions. So it was at a time when we couldn’t really find anywhere else to go that was suitable for us. It was always too overwhelming.

Or I felt like I came out of places sweating and in a fluster because you just think people are not getting my child here. But SNAP was, I always remember someone saying it’s the club you don’t really want to join. But once you’re there, you don’t want to leave because you feel well supported and kind of you meet lots of other people.

It was great really for meeting other parents in the same boat as you. So that was kind of my initial, I think it was set up by a mom, if I remember correctly. Yeah, I’m good friends with Hillary.

Hillary Needham was set up. Her son is now in his thirties and he’s autistic. And she set it up in a church hall, literally a few of them round a table and said, let’s just set up something.

We’re getting lots of, yeah, lots of inquiries from people. And now they support thousands of families and it requires a lot of fundraising. Because like you’ve said, I know you’ve said to me before, you don’t get any government funding.

Very little kind of pots of money that are offered from the local authority. So we fundraise. My Dance for All project was set up to fundraise for SNAP.

So we’re very passionate about finding opportunities to raise as much cash as we can for them because they’re a key kind of local charity. They even sit on the board now on the panel of diagnosis for autism in our local community. So they’re a really key organisation.

We’re lucky to have them in Essex. Yeah, I’ve spoken to a few groups now where they’ve had to fold because they haven’t raised enough money to keep it going. Even though they’ve got volunteers or some Anglia have just had to close their, I think it’s their helpline and they haven’t got funding for.

It’s just so sad because these groups are a lifeline for families.

[Speaker 2] (33:38 – 33:40)
They actually are a lifeline, aren’t they?

[Speaker 1] (33:40 – 34:35)
And it’s just like, what are they going to do when they close? And it’s, you know, obviously the bigger charities are great. But they get a lot of funding where I believe the smaller charities across the country are the ones that are key because obviously they are key for their local community.

I remember when we first started 1994, 1995, there wasn’t a group at all in Hillingdon. There was one, but the lady that started it up, she just couldn’t keep it going because obviously she didn’t have any funding. And also then she had two sons to look after and she was trying to hold down the job.

She was a one parent family. And it was just like, it’s just as much as I love doing it, I just can’t do it anymore. It’s just causing me too much stress.

So we need more of these groups. We don’t need less. A lot of these groups and we do as well as a charity have ambassadors and you have ambassadors.

So tell me a little bit about your ambassadors, what they do and is it a different age range?

[Speaker 2] (34:35 – 34:36)
Yeah.

[Speaker 1] (34:36 – 35:21)
So for Danceful we call them our young ambassadors because we’re really passionate with the project that we get young people involved. And both those that require support and the ones that are giving the support because often with our project, our key people to make it run are our teenagers. Often teenagers are the ones that are delivering the support so they can be working one to one with children.

They may be the person that maybe sits at home and studies Makaton to be able to learn it for our singing and signing for the finale. So they play all different kind of roles really. Our classes, particularly our All Stars class could not run without them.

So they’re very passionate young people that just are kind hearted and willing to give up a bit of their time to support.

[Speaker 2] (35:21 – 35:21)
So how do you find them?

[Speaker 1] (35:22 – 35:23)
What do you do? Do you put an advert out or what do you do?

[Speaker 2] (35:23 – 35:24)
I do.

[Speaker 1] (35:24 – 36:48)
I do literally do that now. Yes. And we’re very fortunate that now we’ve been doing the project for a year.

They’ve seen some of our people that are just applying in the last week actually have seen the success of the people that initially were our first group of young ambassadors. They’ve seen the work they’ve done with those children. They’ve seen how far the child they’ve been working with has come.

And they’ve thought, actually, maybe I could do that. Maybe I could be that person that supports a child. I think they’ve seen how much each of those ambassadors have got out of it as well because for some of them it’s not something they’ve ever done or come across before.

And they’ve learned so much as an individual as well as obviously the child they’re supporting has come on so much. So I think that often our people are playing now are doing it because they think, oh yeah, I want to be a part of that. I want to help and support.

We also really encourage people that are like people like Charlie. My son is a good example because I can talk about him. But he obviously when he first accessed any kind of after school club, he needed support.

Whereas now he is maybe the one that maybe will come along. He wouldn’t fully support someone through a class, but he’s happy to kind of welcome people on the day. That’s key as well, because when you first walk through the door, if there’s not a welcoming atmosphere, it can really put you off and you just want to go home.

[Speaker 2] (36:48 – 36:48)
Definitely.

[Speaker 1] (36:49 – 38:49)
And he’s really key. He wants to be on deck when he’s older. He wants him to retire when he’s about 90.

So he could step into their shoes. But he is he’s the sort of person that our show he will get up and do a bit of presenting. And we have some of the girls selling programs doing front of house.

So they get a bit of work experience. But in a in a safe kind of supported environment. And again, as I said, from both sides.

So we have people that maybe wouldn’t usually be the person picked to go outside and sell programs, welcome the audience in. But we want to give everyone an opportunity. So we pick a variety of people with different skills.

So if someone’s listening in the thing, oh, I’d like to be an ambassador. What do they need to do and where would they find you again? And is there an age range?

How does it work? So we are open to because we can kind of tailor how that ambassador gets involved. So our youngest ambassador is nine, coming up 10.

And our oldest at the moment is 19. But we have plenty of parents that are not an official ambassador, but they do the kind of lot of the behind the scenes stuff. But we would be happy.

Obviously, we want dance for all to spread. I’d love it. My vision really is for it to be across the country, dance for all projects in every community.

So there could be potential for other people to take what we’re doing and use it in their local community. So there’s no age limit. They just need to apply and go on to the dance for all Facebook page.

And then you can message me on there to send me your application video. It’s all it’s all done visually. You don’t have to write a big form or anything like that.

It’s just a one minute snapshot of who you are and why you want to be involved. OK, so going back to having two kids and starting on the journey, if someone’s listening in and their children have just been diagnosed, what advice would you give to a parent or a carer that might be starting on the journey? I always like to ask our visitors what advice would you give?

[Speaker 2] (38:49 – 38:49)
Absolutely.

[Speaker 1] (38:50 – 40:31)
Everyone’s experience is different. So what advice would you give? Yeah, I think looking back and reflecting on my own experience, I would say, even though it’s tough and it’s you feel like you’re in a whirlwind because there’s so much information and professionals and everything is coming at you at once.

But I would say the biggest thing for me was early intervention. So without see this, I don’t want this to come across in too strong, but don’t be kind of pigheaded about it. You know, actually stand back for a minute, absorb what’s happening and what you’ve got going on.

But then access as much support as you can. And I’ve met a few people actually that have really struggled in those early days and thought, oh, we don’t need to see that person or we don’t need that kind of support. And actually just try and stand back for a minute and think, OK, let’s see what we’re dealing with here.

Access as much support as you can because it can really make a difference as they grow up and get older. And even if you’re getting your diagnosis and your child’s leaving primary school, there might be a secondary school. It could be an adult.

You might be an adult that’s just getting a diagnosis. But I just think explore as much as you can. And support isn’t always easy to get.

So I think it’s a bit like you’ve got to get that bit between your teeth and go for it. And I think just try and access as much intervention as you can. I think the thing is, when you go to meetings before you go, write as much stuff down, pointers, because sometimes you go in there, you’re so emotional because it’s your own child.

[Speaker 2] (40:31 – 40:31)
Yes.

[Speaker 1] (40:31 – 41:04)
That you think, oh, I wish I had asked that. I wish I had asked that. So if you’ve got it down in front of you, then you can take it as you go along.

Take someone with you if you can that’s been through the process before and knows what to expect and can support you and can ask questions on your behalf. So for me, it’s like arm yourself with as much information as you possibly can. The more information you have, the better position that you are in.

And don’t be afraid to ask questions. Yeah. And then I would say back it up with an email after you’ve been and just say, I understand from this meeting.

[Speaker 2] (41:05 – 41:05)
Yeah.

[Speaker 1] (41:05 – 43:58)
The more and just keep files, whether it’s on the computer, whether it’s paper files, keep files in chronological order of everything that’s happened from diagnosis right up to you getting the support. Don’t be afraid to chase people and keep, you know, keep at it because that’s the way that you’re going to get those answers. So if somebody wants to ask you a question, do you mind them contacting you via social media?

No, not at all. Can you just remind everybody where they can find you? Sure.

I am Jane Franklin on Facebook. Jane underscore Franklin on Instagram. Autistic underscore FC are also on Instagram and dance for all on Facebook.

And again, if you’d like to be one of my speakers on the show, please contact me on Anna Kennedy online. Just to remind you, it’s www dot Anna Kennedy online dot com. Or you can contact me via Twitter at Anna Kennedy one, Anna Kennedy online on Facebook.

Anna Kennedy, OBE on Instagram. And we’re over to the final part. Welcome to Women’s Radio Station.

I’m Sarah Louise Ryan and welcome to Love Lessons Live on Women’s Radio Station. Hello and welcome to Future Classic Women Awards with me, Stepania Passamante on Women’s Radio Station. Hello and welcome to Julie Mae is listening.

Hi, this is Anna Kennedy and we’re at Women’s Radio Station supporting women’s wellbeing and we’re talking all things autism. And women, the possibilities are endless. That’s what makes us different.

Hi, I’m Lauren Mishcon. I’m a birth dealer and mum of three. And I’m passionate about supporting women to have empowering and positive birth experiences.

Please join me for my brand new show from Tummy to Mummy here on Women’s Radio Station. Every week I’ll be here with an expert guest talking about women’s reproductive health. Everything fertility, pregnancy, birth and baby related right through to the menopause and beyond.

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Hi, I’m Hazel Butterfield, a blogger, book lover and mental health advocate. And you can listen to my show Get Booked here at Women’s Radio Station daily at 5am and 5pm. Throughout my shows we’ll talk about the books I’ve read, new releases, chapter authors, publishers and book enthusiasts, all with a theme and aim of supporting women’s emotional wellbeing.

If you have a book to tell us about, get in touch at presenters at womensradiostation.com.

[Speaker 2] (43:59 – 44:38)
Join me on my show and share my love of books and writing. Hi, I’m Valentina Barbachi and I’m the executive director of Media Matters for Women. We’re a registered charity operating in Sierra Leone and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

And we produce and share podcasts via Bluetooth and mobile phones. Focusing specifically on women and girls excluded from information due to extreme poverty. We empower those living in rural areas with media that transforms how they access, own and share information.

To find out more and be part of this movement, come check out our website at mediamattersforwomen.org. You’re listening to Women’s Radio Station supporting women’s wellbeing.

[Speaker 1] (44:39 – 56:15)
Women’s Radio Station’s creating a global network for the empowerment of women and we want you to be involved. Join us on Instagram and Twitter at Women’s Radio Station, that’s Women’s Radio STN or Facebook Women’s Radio Station to keep up to date with all our exciting programmes. Hello, this is Anna Kennedy.

We’re talking all things autism. We’re live in Covent Garden and my guest today is Jane. I’m just going to give you the last few people that are our finalists for the Autism Hero Award.

So a big shout out for the Sibling of the Year Award, Owen Elvin, Alice Partington and Saray Marius. We have got People’s Autism Hero Award. We had so many entries in for that particular one.

Richard Smith, Hazel Lim, Louise Kirby, Outstanding Education Award, Agata Benson, Joel Mellor, Donna Swan and Deborah Shepard. So again, everyone’s going to be travelling down on the 9th of November. If you want to come along and support them, please check out the charity website.

We’re also going to be going along to the Towngate Theatre, which is in your… Get my teeth in, in your neck of the woods, Jane. And we have been given 80 free tickets.

So if you’re interested, we’re going to be announcing it soon. So if you’re interested, just contact the charity website. It will be going up very soon.

We’re also working with SEND, which is a group in Hillingdon. This will be our second Christmas fair. We’ve got Father Christmas there.

If you want to book a slot and come along with siblings, please contact the charity website. That’s going to be advertised very soon, where children can see Father Christmas, not big long queues. You can get presents.

We’ve got mulled wine. We’ve got all sorts going on. It’s such a lovely event.

Last year, we had 130 families that came along for the whole day. And it’s like, there was really some special moments there and I loved it. So, right, Jane, I’d like to ask you if that’s okay.

Tell me a little bit about your future and for your project. So if I was to say to you, how can you see it in five years time? What can you tell me?

How can you see it? How can you envisage? I’ve taken over the world.

Yeah, I’m lowering my expectations slightly from that. I would love to see what we have as kind of a formula, really, to be replicated. So I would love to have people in other communities.

So I’d like just more children, really, to be able to access after school clubs and activities and not necessarily just dance or football because they happen to be as a family what we love. But a few people have said to me, oh my God, Jane, if you have more hours in the day, you could be running, you know, cricket for all, you know, all kinds of different sports and activities and even just social kind of opportunities, not even just structured sports and performing arts. So I would like, that’s how, if I had ultimate kind of funding, that’s what I would love to set up, an organisation that then allowed us to do that and access for more children to be able to access it, really.

So how many children have you got coming to U Dance School and the football? So how many did you curate it for at the minute? So our football at the moment has got over 30 people signed up.

They don’t all come at the same time now. So at the moment we’re managing that number. Where is the football session held?

That’s in Shenfield, quite close to Brentwood in Essex. Our dance sessions, across my sessions I’ve got 70 or 80 children regularly coming. And obviously as dance for all is involving other organisations across Essex, there’s lots of opportunity and there’s lots of children involved into the hundreds because of the different people that are involved.

But yeah, what I’d like to be able to see is that kind of set up happening in other communities. So the football’s on a Sunday, right? And then what about the dance?

Is that during the week or is that at the weekend as well? My sessions run at Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday. Our specialist one is on a Saturday at 12 o’clock, but all our other sessions are inclusive.

So I have a team of people that act as kind of support workers and one-to-ones throughout our classes. And how long is the session? 45 minutes.

And that’s for the football as well? Football we say an hour, but really it’s 45 minutes of activity. The hour is kind of getting set up and ringing out our wet clothes afterwards.

Football’s not laughing. Yeah, the outdoor thing is not something I’m used to being inside a dance hall for most of my life. So obviously you’re a busy bee juggling.

So do you get much time for you and your husband together? We have to really make a conscious effort because, like you say, juggling the children. Because when I go to work is literally when he walks through the door.

So we’re like passing ships really. So we have to work really hard at that and make it a focus. And sometimes the time together for us might be literally when the kids are in bed in the evening.

Sometimes we don’t sit down for dinner until like 9 o’clock at night, even later sometimes. So we really have to make the effort at that. And we’re getting better as the kids are getting a little bit older.

We are getting better at that. Sophia didn’t sleep. She wakes up four or five times a night and that’s only just slowing down.

So it was hard when she was up all the time. She’s still up in the night now, but not four or five times like she used to be. So you just find you go to sit and talk about something after dinner and you’ll be like, oh, she’s awake again.

Okay, off I go. So we have to make a conscious effort. But for us it’s about that communication between us.

I think sometimes, and it’s not always the mum, but in my experience very often it’s mum that is going to professional appointments, going to charity sessions, and doing everything. It just takes up so much of your time and energy as well. And you have to be on point, don’t you, when you’re there talking to professionals or whatever it is that you’re talking about.

I think what that does as well is you become so fast paced with everything that actually you forget sometimes that for me, for Dan, my husband, that he hasn’t been there for those hours and hours of discussion. So actually to keep him up to speed is another thing to juggle because you’re like, okay, so I need to break this down for you. Let me give it to you in a short way.

I think sometimes really, that’s advice for other parents as well, is that sometimes you’re living and breathing it 24-7 and maybe if they’re out at work and not necessarily there for all of that, it’s important that you can’t expect them to keep up with your pace of how you’re managing it. So it’s important for us that we keep that communication going really. Okay, so this is a program about women and wellbeing.

So what do you do for your wellbeing? So what do you do to relax? I always ask ladies, moms, carers, grandmas, what do you do to relax?

Because I was rubbish at relaxing. I am still a bit rubbish at relaxing, but you do need to do it because obviously you need to look after your wellbeing. You’re the linchpin really to the family as well as your husband and you’ve got to keep going.

So what do you do? Yeah, when you ask me that, it makes me think, oh my gosh, I don’t do it enough really. And I know if I did do it more, I would cope better with the things that I am trying to juggle, but I think it’s that vicious circle, isn’t it?

And for me, I think the biggest thing to help me relax is headspace, just literally having… So today I’ve come up from Essex to Covent Garden and I purposely came on the train a bit earlier to just have a wander, grab a drink, and because my life is literally mapped out every day, I’ve got to be here, drop off there, and it’s just constant. And I work with children, so it is just constant.

I don’t really… You know, some people have a break at work. I don’t get that.

So for me, it’s having headspace. So whether that’s even just at home, me listening to a certain podcast, or whether it’s having a wandering Covent Garden today, it’s just finding those little moments and not making it because I used to think it would be, oh, going to have my nails painted or going to actually see a friend and physically do… That’s sometimes so hard to schedule those things in if they’re not something you’re regularly doing.

So I think it’s about just finding those pockets of time where you can get a bit of time… For me, it’s just time on my own, a bit of headspace, even if it’s reading a book or… I used to do a lot of yoga.

That’s something I love doing. I wish I could do more of it and fit it in, but when I do, I really enjoy it. Oh, I find yoga too slow.

Just do it for me. But I know what you mean. Sometimes I think, oh, God, I’ve got stuff to do, and then I think of my to-do list in my head.

But I guess I think, yeah, that’s probably not a good thing. I need to slow down. We were also chatting when we were having a coffee when we first met about friends and families.

So would you say your friends have changed since you’ve had your children with disabilities? Because we’re talking about that some friends are not supportive or some family members are not supportive. You don’t have to share this with me, but I just think your circle sort of changes, don’t you think?

Yeah, and I’ve always said this, and I used to write quite a lot about this in my blog, which I don’t write as much now because I can’t juggle it all the time. But I often describe that your social circle, as you’re growing up, you go out to work, and you’ve got friends everywhere, but actually, when you have children, it decreases anyway. Your social circle becomes so much smaller.

Then you have children that have got additional needs and it shrinks even more. And I think you really hold dear those people that stick with you through thick and thin. But definitely, for me, it’s become a lot smaller.

And I think the exhaustion of over-explaining yourself, especially in the early days, I just felt like all I did was go, oh, sorry, sorry, he doesn’t really like that. And you feel just over-explaining and over-apologizing all the time. And I think, actually, I stood back after a couple of years of kind of working and supporting with Charlie.

I just thought, I don’t want to keep apologizing all the time and over-explaining myself. And I think it’s then when you realize, actually, the people around me that I don’t need to explain myself to, actually, they’re the people you want to keep close because they get it. You don’t need to say, this has happened or don’t do this.

Can you make sure you say that? He only eats that. You know, those people that they just go, Jane, don’t worry, I get it.

They’re the people you want to keep close. That’s most definitely it. And also, I think that’s why social media is so good as well for a lot of parents.

You know, they can chat about things. They’re not going to get judged. People get it.

You know, they’ve set up like, some people set up WhatsApp groups, some people set up specific pages. Like, for example, last night I was up with Angelo and he just, I’ve had a horrendous night with him and I’m just about to work sitting here talking to you. But he was up and down and up and down and I just thought, oh, but you just get days like that.

But you don’t really have to say much on social media because parents are, oh, I’m up as well, or I’m up as well, oh, yeah, so-and-so’s watching. A little chance to vent and they get it. Yeah, he’s watching Care Bears for the 65th time.

So those sort of things. So I think social media is so important as well as in particular Facebook, you know, I think is a good support network for people. Because you can access those communities you wouldn’t necessarily have got before.

I just want to say thank you so much. This hour has flown by.

[Speaker 2] (56:15 – 56:16)
It really has.

[Speaker 1] (56:16 – 56:22)
And I know I thank you for coming along all the way from my six and I hope you’ve had some downtime. Yeah, that was great.

[Speaker 2] (56:22 – 56:23)
Yeah, it was great. Thank you for having me.

[Speaker 1] (56:23 – 59:57)
And again, just to remind people just quickly, if they want to find you, where can they find you? So Jane Franklin on Instagram, Facebook, DanceForAll on Facebook, and Autistic Underscore FC on Instagram. So again, if you want to be one of my speakers, please contact me on the charity website.

Whatever it is you want to talk about, mental health, autism, learning disability, whether you’re an autistic adult, a parent, a grandparent, a professional, please contact me. I’d be very interested in talking to you and you can share across the wave. So thank you so much again, Jane.

And we’re here supporting women’s wellbeing. Have a good week, everyone. Welcome to the Women’s Radio Station, supporting women’s wellbeing.

Women’s Radio Station is all about diversity from opinions, career, ethnicity, education, and most importantly, women’s wellbeing. We aim to celebrate the individuality of every woman everywhere, providing opportunities and the platform for your voice. Visit our website, womensradiostation.com, for more information. I’m Tamina Zaman, founder of Empower & Enrage. When it comes to money, do you climb up or get confused? Do you wish you could save more money, or are you hoping you have enough for retirement?

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