All Things Autism – Thomas Henley, Aspergers Growth

All Things Autism - Thomas Henley, Aspergers Growth 200921.mp3 ========================================= Speaker 12 00:00 - 00:07 Hello, this is Anna Kennedy. We're talking all things autism. We're live. We're in Covent Garden and it's a very chilly afternoon. Speaker 12 00:07 - 00:16 I've had such a busy week and weekend. I still feel like I'm travelling. I went to Glasgow on Friday. to do a talk. Speaker 12 00:16 - 00:36 It was amazing. Met so many lovely mums who basically have set up their own group and they were chatting to me about what they want me to do for them for next year. Then I came back on the following day and then we prepared for the autism variety show which was in Clacton-on-Sea at the Westcliff theatre. Oh my God, it was amazing. Speaker 12 00:37 - 01:02 I absolutely loved it and I was so proud of one of my ambassadors, Aston Avery, who was the MC with me for the first time on the show. We had some fantastic performers and the comments that have been coming still from the show that we did on Sunday, so just to give you a little bit of a snippet, we had Ricky Hottie. He's performing a medley of well-known classics. He's only 12 years old. Speaker 12 01:03 - 01:28 He taught himself the basics of the piano from a keyboard from a very early age. Ricky cannot read music and all his music has been learned by ear and copying hand movements. Also very proud of Macaulay Elvin, one of my ambassadors yet again, who had written a song called Hollow for when he was being bullied for our anti-bullying campaign. He sang The Father Figure by George Michael. Speaker 12 01:28 - 01:54 He's 22 years old. He's a singer-songwriter, performing arts student from Ipswich. And what he did was he sang one of the songs from Spandau Ballet. And it was heard by Spandau Ballet themselves and what they did was Steve Norman one of the band members had a concert and invited him to sing alongside him in London and now he's going to be meeting with him on Friday so that's very exciting stuff. Speaker 12 01:54 - 02:11 I have another exciting guest with me today his name is Thomas Henley he's 23 years old 23 years old, sorry, and was raised in the town of Harrogate in North Yorkshire. And he's a common wealth gold medalist. I'm not going to tell you anymore because I'm going to let Thomas talk about himself. Welcome, Thomas. Speaker 7 02:12 - 02:13 Hi, how are you doing? Speaker 12 02:13 - 02:18 Fine. Thank you so much for coming along all the way from Harrogate. So tell me a little bit about yourself for the listeners. Speaker 7 02:19 - 02:32 So I think, as you said, I'm a Commonwealth gold medalist in the sport of Taekwondo. It's a full contact sport. I started it when I was about 13. So I was very late on doing that. Speaker 7 02:33 - 02:40 And since then, I've sort of been climbing the ranks and stuff. Yeah. Speaker 12 02:40 - 02:48 So what made you think, right, I want to do Taekwondo? Somebody inspired you? Or did you watch something on television? Or what made you think, right, this is what I want to do? Speaker 7 02:49 - 03:07 So, I used to do swimming. I used to be quite a good swimmer. But for reasons due to mental health, I stopped going to it and stuff. And I was going through a pretty bad amount of time in my teenage years. Speaker 7 03:09 - 03:30 And because of that, I was watching anime and movies about fighters and people who have gone from nothing or gone from being mentally broken to being strong and powerful. And I thought, I want to do a martial art. Went around, tried a few martial arts. Some of them involved too much touching. Speaker 7 03:31 - 03:32 So I went for the one that was kicking. Speaker 12 03:32 - 03:36 Okay, so what does actually Taekwondo mean? What does that mean? Do you know what it means? Speaker 7 03:36 - 03:47 Yeah, I do actually. It's the art of hand and foot fighting, although it's more of a foot fighting. Oh, is it? You can punch the body, but that's it in the sport. Speaker 12 03:47 - 03:52 So when you were diagnosed with autism, I believe you were 10 years old, is that right? Speaker 7 03:52 - 03:53 Yes, I was. Speaker 12 03:53 - 03:57 How did that diagnosis come about and how did it make you feel afterwards? Speaker 7 03:58 - 04:37 So around about like, you know, eight, nine and 10, my parents started to notice something different about me, but they weren't too sure about it. I was showing a lot of, you know, aspects of stimming when I was a baby, I used to spin around in the, spin around on the spot when my parents were watching TV, which was very annoying for them. And, I was starting to have a little bit of social trouble, so I wasn't getting on a lot with my friends and the kids at school. Didn't really feel like I fit in at that school, at the primary school. Speaker 7 04:38 - 04:58 And she dumped me for an assessment. I remember it, I think we went one or two days, but I can only remember the day that she told me. Went to the psychologist, did some tests and stuff, and then when it all finished, she took me to McDonald's. Got some chicken nuggets and chips, nice little happy meal. Speaker 7 04:59 - 05:07 And she told me that I was autistic, and she explained all the things to do with it. Speaker 12 05:08 - 05:09 Had you heard of it before? Speaker 7 05:09 - 05:34 No, I had no idea. And when she was explaining it to me, I just remember the first time in my life crying tears of joy, which is not something that often happens. I don't know how that happened, but it gave me a lot of relief because I knew that there was something different about me. I knew that the people around, the kids at school, they just didn't seem to be on my wavelength. Speaker 7 05:34 - 05:37 And it brought me a lot of relief knowing that there was a reason to it. Speaker 12 05:38 - 05:48 So when you were told, did anything change at school for you? Did they change the way they were working with you or teaching you or did they put anything in place to help you? Speaker 7 05:48 - 06:04 So, I did sort of have a few sessions, I think with the, I think it was occupational therapist, maybe. Okay, either or two, yeah. But as far as helping the school, I didn't receive that much support at all. Teachers weren't very good with me, didn't really understand what it was about. Speaker 7 06:05 - 06:18 Oh dear. And my mum wanted to get me to a different place, obviously, but it was coming up to about the time where we started to move secondary schools and stuff, so we just left it there. Right. And there wasn't that much support. Speaker 12 06:18 - 06:21 So then you moved on to secondary and what happened there, was it any better for you? Speaker 7 06:22 - 07:00 The first two years were good because it was sort of all fresh and new and you know I had a few of the upper years sort of giving me a bit of grief but only now and again. Made some good friends but then about two years, three years into it, by the age of like 13 I started to become very sort of secluded and isolated within myself so I used to be very, very bubbly, used to be the class clown. I used to talk to anybody from anywhere. And obviously at that age, when you first start moving up to secondary school, there's no sort of social groups or anything. Speaker 7 07:01 - 07:45 So it was easy for me to get on then. But I just remember like one time after coming off to my holidays, It just all changed for me and it's almost like everybody in the school banded together to make up these bizarre rules that I had no idea about and I just ended up getting loads of grief from people, bullied relentlessly. Even the people who I was friends with used to talk about me behind my back and use social codes that I didn't really understand while I was there to communicate to other people. Speaker 7 07:45 - 08:04 Yeah, it was really bad and I started to develop a lot of anxiety around going to school. I used to take a lot of sick days off. Didn't want to go in at all. And obviously that sort of progressed and my mental health sort of deteriorated and I developed depression when I was about 14. Speaker 12 08:04 - 08:21 I get really frustrated when I hear stories like yours where it's happening at school and I'm thinking, what are the teachers doing? What are the teaching assistants doing? Would you say quite a bit of it happened in break times? Because obviously those are the most social times that you're expected to socialise. Speaker 7 08:24 - 08:35 Yeah, I guess so. It was more like on the bus to school. Because obviously I was very quiet. Didn't really want to interact with people, especially if they were harassing me. Speaker 7 08:36 - 08:58 And they took it as a sign of weakness, obviously. So I used to get bullied on the bus every day to school. Not by anyone who was stronger or anything than me, but just people that would constantly harass me. And then obviously at school, some people build rumors around things and they Speaker 12 08:58 - 09:13 Yeah, it was just... Yeah, but look at you now. I bet half of them haven't got represented Great Britain in the Commonwealth Games, so you've left them behind. So let's talk about something positive. Speaker 12 09:13 - 09:23 So you represented Great Britain at the Taekwondo Commonwealth Games. So that is amazing. Like, that's on another level. So tell me a little bit about that and when you received your gold medal. Speaker 7 09:24 - 09:47 So I started taekwondo when I was about 14, about the same time. I trained for two years at a traditional club in Harrogate, then moved to a sporting club when I realised I wasn't getting enough from that setting. I wanted to take it further. started competing around the country, going to different places. Speaker 7 09:48 - 10:22 And then as I got better and as I started to win, you know, like national medals and stuff, then I started getting opportunities to go travel abroad to different places like Croatia and Holland and stuff to fight. And then after that, I got invited to things like the European Championships. Wow. And then obviously the Commonwealth Games where I had to fight, I think about three or four Australians, one of which was a heavyweight who was moving down from, super heavyweight who was moving down from the above category. Speaker 7 10:22 - 10:30 So I had to fight him in the finals and yeah, it was probably, it was almost like a movie moment in that case. Speaker 12 10:30 - 10:31 I bet your mum was really proud of you. Speaker 7 10:32 - 10:32 She was. Speaker 12 10:33 - 10:34 Have you got any brothers or sisters? Speaker 7 10:34 - 10:41 Yeah, little brother called Sam. He's about two and a half years younger than me. He's cool. He likes his cars and stuff. Speaker 7 10:41 - 10:44 He does like car balloting, I think. Speaker 12 10:44 - 10:56 OK, so that's really... I want to know a little bit more about that and how you've managed to sort of navigate your way to different countries as well and how was that for you? And have you got any sort of sensory issues? So we can talk about that. Speaker 12 10:56 - 11:12 So we're coming down to the first half. I just want to remind everyone about the AKO Autism Expo, which is at Brunel University. And we're preparing for that now, not long to go. So we have the Autism Reality Bus, which comes every year and there's always a big long queue. Speaker 12 11:12 - 11:36 So people try the experience for three minutes and you get what it's like to have a sensory overload. We have free clinics where you can speak to my husband Sean, for example, and give you some free legal advice or an OT where you can get occupational therapy advice. Or Paul, one of our consultants who's autistic, he can talk to you about behavior management. We also have lots of different stands and lots of speakers. Speaker 12 11:36 - 11:58 We've got Janet Wilcott, we've got Matthew and Callum, we've got Dr. Carol Stott, we've got Laurie Morgan, Julie Williams, Dagmara Dimitriou was one of my guests on Women's Radio talking about sleep, and Juliana Uyta. So if you're interested, check out www.talk.org.uk. I'm not getting my teeth in today, www.autismexpo.co.uk. Speaker 3 12:02 - 12:04 Welcome to Women's Radio Station. Speaker 6 12:04 - 12:10 Hello and welcome to Future Classic Women Awards with me, Stefania Passamonte on Women's Radio Station. Speaker 10 12:10 - 12:14 Hello and welcome to Judy May Is Listening. Speaker 12 12:14 - 12:21 Hi, this is Anna Kennedy and we're at women's radio station supporting women's well-being and we're talking all things autism. Speaker 3 12:21 - 12:25 Women, the possibilities are endless. That's what makes us different. Speaker 5 12:30 - 12:37 Hi, I'm Meg Matthews. And I'm Carolyn Vambeers. Join us for a brand new show on Women's Radio Station. It's the Meg's Menopause Show. Speaker 5 12:37 - 12:54 Yes, for the first time on radio, there's an entire show dedicated to the menopause. A fresh new approach, where we inform you of all the choices and treatments that are out there. Supportive and empowering, this is your show. So join us every week with a host of celebrity guests. Speaker 5 12:54 - 12:58 Our very own resident doctor. Where we talk about everything menopause. Speaker 9 12:59 - 13:26 Hi, I'm Lauren Mishkon. I'm a birth doula 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. Speaker 9 13:26 - 13:29 Please join us for an informative and fun hour. Speaker 8 13:29 - 13:54 My name is Ingrid Marsh and I host the radical well-being show supporting women's well-being. On my show I bring you ordinary women like me and you who are sharing their unique stories. Women who have refused to be defined by their pains, to be silenced by stigma or crushed by stereotypes and who are taking back their power. And together our mission is a simple one and that's to inspire you to kick away the roadblocks too. Speaker 8 13:54 - 13:59 To don your wings and be the person that you were born to be. Speaker 11 14:00 - 14:21 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 5 a.m. and 5 p.m. Throughout my shows, we'll talk about the books I've read, new releases, chat to authors, publishers, and book enthusiasts, all with the theme and aim of supporting women's emotional well-being. Speaker 11 14:21 - 14:29 If you have a book to tell us about, get in touch at presentersatwomensradiostation.com. Join me on my show and share my love of books and writing. Speaker 3 14:32 - 14:55 You're listening to Women's Radio Station, supporting women's well-being. 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 programs. Speaker 12 14:59 - 15:06 Hello, this is Anna Kennedy. We're talking all things autism. We're live and we're in Covent Garden. And my guest today is Thomas Henley. Speaker 12 15:06 - 15:40 Before I go back over to Thomas, I've been reading in a magazine yet again, families face nightmare wait for autism diagnosis. So nearly half of the parents are waiting 18 months or more. And I'm sure there's lots more parents that are waiting a lot longer to receive a formal diagnosis of autism, with some families having to wait three years, according to new research. In a survey of nearly 4,000 parents conducted by Ambitious About Autism, more than 70% reported that even after they got an official diagnosis, they did not receive adequate support for their child who was autistic. Speaker 12 15:40 - 16:04 Many said that they were left completely alone without information about sources of support or follow-up appointments. And again, this was something that we did as a charity about 10 years ago, talking about autism diagnosis. And it keeps being flagged up, but parents are just still waiting. And some parents are resorting to go to pay for private diagnosis, which is not cheap, but it's just because of the frustration. Speaker 12 16:04 - 16:19 And obviously, they want to get support for their son or daughter. So, Thomas, thank you again for coming along to talk to me. We touched a little bit on the Commonwealth Games. Tell me a little bit more about being awarded the best male fighter of the competition. Speaker 7 16:20 - 16:35 Oh, so it was about the time when you've sort of been awarded the medals and stuff. I went up onto the podium and got my medal. And it was a long day for anybody who doesn't know about taekwondo competitions. They are very long. Speaker 7 16:35 - 17:09 They're very loud. There's lots of lights and there's a lot of high energy for a long period of time. So my family and stuff were waiting to go home and my friends and my girlfriend and So they were announcing these trophies for best male and female fighter of the competition, and I just sort of had a feeling that I should hang about, so I stood right at the end of the building next to the door with my bag, just about to leave, and my family were like, Tom, Tom, come on, we have to go. Speaker 12 17:09 - 17:11 I listened to this. Yeah, you had a gut instinct, obviously. Speaker 7 17:12 - 17:32 And they just said my name, and I just dropped all my bags, threw it onto the floor, and pegged it across the whole sports hall to get this trophy. And I remember not being able to contain my smile. So I wasn't a very smiley guy at that point, but I was buzzing. Speaker 12 17:32 - 17:42 You definitely had something to smile about. So what barriers did you overcome? So when you first started being a taekwondo athlete, what sort of barriers did you have to overcome? Speaker 7 17:43 - 18:08 Oh, well, there's a lot of things that I had to overcome for that. Firstly, the anxiety and the panic attacks. A week before every flight that I had, I would always have crippling anxiety for the whole week. And then I would pretty much always have a panic attack before each flight that I did, even if it was at the Commonwealth or abroad or anywhere. Speaker 7 18:09 - 18:32 And that was really difficult, of course. Even just like little bits of anxiety just from going to training sessions. I remember going to the British squad. They're supposed to be all professional and understanding and stuff, but I had a meltdown before one of the training camps and the main coach told my parents that I was slacking. Speaker 7 18:32 - 18:57 And all of that, and they started taking me out of competitions that I would otherwise have been going to. Yeah, it wasn't great. But yeah, apart from that, Taekwondo halls are just an absolute sensory nightmare. Floodlights, you know, the sports halls, echoey, loads of people, loads of lights, noises. Speaker 7 18:57 - 19:01 It's probably the worst place that I could have gone to. Speaker 12 19:01 - 19:20 I was just going to say, why are you putting yourself through all of this? You obviously love doing what you're doing, but what sort of strategies have you put into place for someone listening in? Because I've spoken to quite a few families, and I've spoken to some autistic adults that are thinking of doing something like that. Because one of our patrons is Jo Luck, and she's World Kickbox Champion. Speaker 12 19:20 - 19:39 And she's had a few issues, and she's just recently won bronze in the last couple of days. Many things that you've shared are what she shared with me about the difficulty. So what strategies do you try and put in place to help you overcome so that you can get to your end goal? Speaker 7 19:40 - 20:19 So a lot of the preparation in terms of anxiety is exposure for me. There's not really much that can do anything apart from medication and exposure for me. So just having an awareness of how anxious I'm gonna feel before, but then logging how I feel after as well, because I always get into the groove after the first minute of fighting. And then I feel a lot better, so it was just about reminding myself how I felt after that coming up period of anxiety. Speaker 7 20:20 - 20:40 Apart from that, just trying to relax, do stuff for myself, maybe not be in the venue as much as possible, take a breather outside now and again. talk to some people that I like, put my headphones on if I want to chill out. It's all about managing it. There's no like hints or tricks or anything. Speaker 7 20:40 - 20:51 You just got to catch when you need a break, which obviously with an autism diagnosis, it's quite hard. Yeah. But I definitely have. It's more about awareness of when I get like that. Speaker 12 20:51 - 21:07 Okay, so when you've finished your fight and you're finished and you're walking off, so what happens then? Do you have the comedown? Because I know some people that afterwards they think there's a little bit of a comedown afterwards and they can get a little bit down because they like to feel that feeling when they're fighting. Adrenaline. Speaker 12 21:07 - 21:16 Yeah, and it obviously only stays with them in the middle of the fight and then obviously it leaves and then there's that comedown period. So what sort of things do you do to try and manage that? Speaker 7 21:16 - 21:37 It's, for me, I like that, because I know that after I've finished fighting, I feel completely relaxed. You know, the endorphins are going through me. The adrenaline is sort of tapering off a little bit, but I usually don't get that that much. It depends on the day. Speaker 7 21:37 - 21:47 It depends on how long between the fights they are, because we do multiple fights throughout the day. But it's alright for me. Speaker 12 21:47 - 21:51 So what's the training like? What do you have to do? Do you have to get up early jockeying or something? What do you do to train? Speaker 7 21:53 - 22:18 So a lot of the work that I did was at a taekwondo club called Horizon Taekwondo Academy. Just lovely para-coaches who helped me out so much then. And a lot of the work that I did was outside as well. So I used to go on my own to a gym, just with a heavy bag, and just kick it, do some interval training on the treadmill. Speaker 7 22:18 - 22:25 I did all the research for the sports science behind it myself. Tied in my PE, A-level thing. Speaker 12 22:25 - 22:38 So look at all these things you've achieved. I bet half these kids that bullied you haven't achieved any of what you've achieved. I'm proud of you, and I'm not even your mother. So you went to university as well. Speaker 12 22:39 - 22:49 We were chatting about that. We were having a coffee because the weird thing is today, two years ago, I spoke at Manchester University and you obviously had an experience at Manchester. So tell me a little bit about that. Speaker 7 22:50 - 23:06 So, first year was, it was okay. I did a lot of work and I did a lot of training, so I was still sort of actively training back then for our competitions and stuff. It was okay, passed that really well. Second year was a bit of a low for me. Speaker 12 23:07 - 23:09 What did you do at Manchester? What were you studying? Speaker 7 23:09 - 23:15 Yeah, of course. I studied biomedical sciences with industrial experience. Speaker 12 23:15 - 23:19 Look at this, it's amazing. I'm getting even prouder, carry on. Speaker 7 23:19 - 23:32 So yeah, it's all about, it's basically like the medical, it's basically like medicine, but it's the research behind the medicine, so you do less things but in a lot more detail. Right. That's basically the gist. So how long was the course? Speaker 7 23:33 - 23:36 Four years, including a placement year. Speaker 12 23:37 - 23:38 Okay, and how was that for you? Speaker 7 23:38 - 23:52 It was okay. As I said, second year wasn't too great. So I felt like I needed a bit of an escape, so I did probably one of the only impulsive things I did up to that point in my life, and I decided to go to Thailand. Speaker 12 23:53 - 23:53 Oh, like you do? Speaker 7 23:54 - 23:57 Yeah, just literally three days before the deadline. Speaker 12 23:57 - 24:01 Oh my word. I bet your mum was thinking, what the hell? Speaker 7 24:01 - 24:04 I was going about in temples catching mosquitoes and grinding them up. Speaker 12 24:04 - 24:11 So what was it like in Thailand then? How long did it take you to get there? How did you book it so quickly as well in like three days? Speaker 7 24:11 - 24:23 Oh, it was, so the date for confirming it was different to the date of leaving. Oh, right, okay. Yeah, it was, but it took quite a while. And how long were you there? Speaker 7 24:23 - 24:38 I was there for about, I was supposed to be there for nine months. Right. So we sort of got there, traveled a bit around Northern Thailand, bit of Southern Thailand. And my dad came over for the half term, we went traveling around. Speaker 7 24:38 - 24:41 Singapore, Malaysia and Southern Thailand. Speaker 1 24:41 - 24:42 Oh, that's lovely. Speaker 7 24:42 - 24:52 And then at the end I went backpacking with my friend Ben for two months around the Philippines, Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. Speaker 12 24:53 - 25:03 You've achieved so much and you're still a young lad. So if somebody who's on the spectrum thinking about going backpacking, what's the good things and what's the bad things? Speaker 7 25:04 - 25:19 So the bad things are is that it's probably going to be extremely stressful most of the time. I could imagine that to me. So, you know, with all the transitions and the difficulties, you know, new environments all the time. The main thing is knowing exactly what you're doing. Speaker 7 25:19 - 25:46 So if you want to do a lot, and you think you're capable of doing a lot of traveling and fitting in more in a short space of time, then go for it. But if you feel like you need some days to relax and rest, then that's also good, but you need an anchor. So for me, when I'm going somewhere new, I need a person that I know, a person that's close to me. or if I'm going to meet someone that I don't know, it needs to be an environment that I know. Speaker 7 25:47 - 25:52 So having either of those, someone that's really close to you that'll support you, that's the most important thing for me. Speaker 12 25:52 - 26:17 Yeah, my son Patrick's just started sending me links, and all of a sudden he's into paleontology, that's what he loves. So he said, oh mom, I'm thinking of going to Canada, but this has never happened before, and it's me panicking now thinking, but he's looking into it, what do you think, what do you think, this is a 10 day. So I said, oh, there's one in Wales, what? that one first because obviously he's never been away from home for 10 days so I thought at least I can drive to Wales if I need to. Speaker 12 26:18 - 26:40 Driving to Canada is a bit of a nightmare. So yeah those are the things that he's thinking about at the moment but you know that's it's all positive and it's all great stuff but he just needs to plan it out as you say and find out what the good bits are going to be and what the bad bits are going to be. So we're going to be announcing Autumn's Got Talent performers on Thursday on Gateway Radio with my ambassador Aston. Speaker 12 26:40 - 26:58 It has been such a nightmare to choose 20 performers. We had so many performers from all over the world. So if you want to listen in and check out the charity website, on Thursday we'll be announcing 20 performers that are going to be performing at Autumn's Got Talent at the Mermaid Theatre on June the 13th. Speaker 3 27:01 - 27:28 Welcome to the Women's Radio Station, supporting women's well-being. Women's Radio Station is all about diversity, from opinions, career, ethnicity, education, and most importantly, women's well-being. 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. Speaker 4 27:30 - 27:50 Hi, everyone, and welcome to The Femaling Show. I am your host, Nicole Goodman, and I am a woman's identity expert and coach. As women, we fall into different phases of identity throughout adult life, and during these, our challenges can look pretty similar. Here at WRS, I will be talking to you about the real issues we all face, and even the ones we can silently struggle with. Speaker 4 27:51 - 27:59 Through honest, heartfelt conversation here at Femaling, you will learn how to accept yourself, understand yourself, and be yourself. Speaker 5 28:00 - 28:15 Hi, I'm Carolyn Van Beers. Please join me for a brand new show here on Women's Radio Station. It's Mother's Hour. If, like me, you're a mum juggling far too many balls and dropping most of them, this is definitely the show for you. Speaker 5 28:16 - 28:30 We'll examine the highs and lows of motherhood and make sure you laugh out loud as we take on this challenging role together. With spoonfuls of advice, incredible stories, it will be a refreshing, honest and funny look at being a mum. Speaker 13 28:30 - 28:41 I'm Tamina Zaman, founder of Empower & Enrich. When it comes to money, do you clam up or get confused? Do you wish you could save more money, or are you hoping you have enough for retirement? You are not alone. Speaker 13 28:41 - 28:59 Many women want to be smarter with their cash, but just don't know where to start. At EmpowerAndEnrich.org, you will find a host of options to help you take charge of your finances and learn how to put your money to work for you in an easy, affordable way. Get in touch with me at EmpowerAndEnrich.org, and let's change your future together. Speaker 2 29:01 - 29:15 Are you struggling with money? Turn to Us is a national charity helping people struggling to make ends meet. Job loss, illness or bereavement can cause a real financial crisis. We give practical help to get people back on track. Speaker 2 29:16 - 29:29 Whether you're thinking of having a baby, trying to get out of an unhappy relationship or just unsure what benefits you may be entitled to, we can help. Visit turntous.org.uk Speaker 3 29:32 - 29:53 Welcome to the Women's Radio Station, supporting women's well-being. Women's Radio Station can give voice to your brand with a wide range of sponsorship opportunities, including individual programmes. We can tailor your experience for you. For more information on how you can sponsor a show, go to womensradiostation.com. Speaker 3 29:53 - 29:57 Women's Radio Station, supporting women's well-being. Speaker 12 29:59 - 30:08 Hello, this is Anna Kennedy. We're talking all things autism. We're live and we're in Covent Garden. And my guest today is Thomas Henley, who's travelled all the way from Harrogate. Speaker 12 30:09 - 30:25 Today, again, I was asked about chewy toys. Angelo uses a lot of chewy toys, but they tend not to last very long. So if you are interested in chewy toys, there's Chewy Gem that are quite good. Ujumbobs, Sensory Ujumbobs is another one. Speaker 12 30:25 - 30:42 I like that, Ujumbobs, I like that word. So yeah, so that's another one that you can use. And someone did suggest to me dog toys, like dog chews, but I don't know, it just makes me feel a bit sick even suggesting it. But some people do use them because obviously some of these things don't last very long. Speaker 12 30:42 - 30:55 Something else that people use for Sensory support could be wobble cushions and this is recommended by an occupational therapist. Weighted vests or lap pads. Weighted vests can be quite expensive. I bought one for Angelo about £250. Speaker 12 30:57 - 31:07 He used it for a little while then he didn't want to wear it anymore. So there's lots of different things out there. that you can use to help with sensory. Trampoline, obviously, is another big one. Speaker 12 31:07 - 31:18 The amount of trampolines Angelo has broken throughout the years. Me looking for springs to replace the ones that have snapped. And what was so funny when we've had these storm... I can't remember half the names. Speaker 12 31:18 - 31:28 Half these trampolines have gone in next door's garden. Or I actually saw one on someone's roof that had blown through the hurricane. So, yes. So we're going to go back to Thomas. Speaker 12 31:28 - 31:51 And before I speak to Thomas, he's got some links if you might be interested in checking him out. So it's at Asperger's Growth on Twitter, at Asperger's Growth on Facebook and Instagram. He's got his own YouTube channel we're going to be talking about in a minute, which is called Asperger's Growth. And I love this title for his podcasts are Thoughty Autie podcast. Speaker 12 31:51 - 32:00 So Thoughty Autie podcast. Those are Apple podcasts and Spotify. So tell me a little bit more, Thomas, about your YouTube channel. What's on there? Speaker 12 32:00 - 32:01 What can people find? Speaker 7 32:01 - 32:15 So I make a lot of videos to deal with mental health and autism. That's the main thing that I do. I make them for autistic people. I also make them for people who aren't autistic, so neurotypicals. Speaker 7 32:15 - 32:36 And it's basically around building an awareness, but also a more personal understanding of those, if you want to call them conditions. and I make videos, some of them are a bit funny, some of them are a bit serious. It really depends on the day and the topic, yeah, of course. Speaker 12 32:36 - 32:47 I think sometimes some of these things that I've seen are a little bit too serious, and I know it can be serious, but you need to throw a bit of humour in now and again, don't you? So when did you start doing your YouTube? How long ago? Speaker 7 32:48 - 33:04 So I started in my second year, actually. As I said, I was going through quite a low period of time. I was self-isolating a lot. At one point, I was inside for a long time because I was getting very severe panic attacks four or five times a day. Speaker 7 33:05 - 33:36 And my depression was absolutely horrible. But the one way that I sort of got out of that and redirected my focus was making videos about my experiences with depression, anxiety, autism. So it started more off as a sort of blogging kind of thing. But then as it started to get a little bit more popular and as I started to improve myself, I realized that I could offer other people what I've learned. Speaker 7 33:36 - 33:52 for all these years trying to overcome these challenges. So that's how I started off and now it's developed into something that possibly I might want to do as a, you know, a career I want to talk about. Speaker 12 33:52 - 34:02 Yeah, why not? Yeah. So if you, someone's listening in and might be an autistic adult thinking I might try to do that YouTube channel, I might try vlogging. You got any tips for them? Speaker 7 34:03 - 34:34 Yeah, you can search up anything on YouTube to learn about it. Literally, I am self-taught, so I've never done any courses, never done any degrees. I've learned all of my video making, audio editing skills from things like Skillshare and things like YouTube or just the internet. You just have to put a lot of work into it, but if it's something that you're passionate about, then it's going to be something that you want to do in your downtime anyway. Speaker 7 34:34 - 34:57 So it's very much a progressing thing. You get better and better and better. You start off a bit rubbish, don't know what to say, editing it to, you know, properly editing it all together, chopping and sticking every two seconds. But then as you get a bit more confident with it, then you start to see the longer sort of videos, the ones where you don't have to cut it that much, ones where you can add some cool effects and all of that. Speaker 12 34:57 - 34:59 What sort of feedback do you get? Speaker 7 35:00 - 35:12 Very good feedback, actually. I think we've nearly got about 2,000 subscribers on there. Brilliant. Which, in comparison to some other YouTube channels, it's not very much, but it's a lot for me. Speaker 7 35:12 - 35:48 That's good. The community that I have is amazing. absolutely amazing and some people don't have any communication with anybody so they're very isolated and alone they don't know what to do with themselves and I get messages and comments from them giving them their experiences and you know, so giving me feedback on things and it's really nice to see that community growing because I love helping people and it gives me so much joy to see people, you know, so down and Speaker 12 35:49 - 36:03 So if people want to check out your YouTube, just to remind people, it's AssBurgersGrowth. So what's the most common reaction, if you don't mind me asking, when you tell people that you're autistic? It's obviously a good-looking young man. Thank you very much. Speaker 12 36:03 - 36:15 And then, you know, sometimes it's not always visible straight away, which is like what I say to Patrick. Not that he doesn't like it when I say he's a good-looking young man. That's just like, oh, but you're my mother. You're bound to say that. Speaker 12 36:15 - 36:25 So what would you say is any tips to telling people that they're autistic, the right way to go about it, or is it just you're gonna blurt it out there? Speaker 7 36:27 - 36:51 Well, I think that in the autistic community, we have a whole thing about masking. So a lot of the other autism YouTubers talk about masking and say that it's not a good thing to do. It ruins, you know, that you're out of personality, puts a wall between you and other people. And I feel like to some extent that is true, but there is another side to it, which is the side that I sort of lean towards. Speaker 7 36:51 - 37:16 And it's, I find learning these social skills and implementing things that I would not usually do to communicate as a new language. So I use it as a way of communicating with people. getting some empathy from people, helping them to know me before I tell them. And I do often tell people very instantaneously. Speaker 7 37:16 - 37:27 It's not something that I hide anymore. I used to completely ignore it and associate it with myself. But as I've got older, I'm actually proud. I'm proud to be autistic. Speaker 7 37:27 - 37:30 It's not something that I feel like I should hide. Speaker 12 37:30 - 38:11 I feel a bit frustrated by some parents and I have shared this before but say for example you know I spoke in the Indian community a lot of cultures are worried about sharing that their son or daughter are autistic or even if they're autistic themselves they're worried about the stigma attached We did something with the first responders where we took the autism reality experience along to show what it was like to have a sensory overload. And then a lot of the first responders there said, you know, like, for example, there was one chap I remember saying to this other chap as they were chatting, they'd just had the experience, they'd come out, they were getting ready for the training, and he said, oh, my son's autistic. Speaker 12 38:10 - 38:21 or my nephew's autistic, but they'd never ever said it before. And they started chatting to each other. They said, oh, I didn't know that. And you could almost see like the relief coming from both of their bodies. Speaker 12 38:21 - 38:33 And for me, it's like, what's wrong with sharing about it? What's wrong with being proud you're autistic? I don't I don't understand why people hold it back. It's just about there's nothing to be ashamed of. Speaker 12 38:33 - 38:35 What's your opinion? What do you think? Speaker 7 38:36 - 39:09 I think there's nothing to be ashamed of. There's negatives, of course, but there's also a lot of good positives that if you adjust your lifestyle depending on what you're capable of and what you're good at and what you're bad at, try and work on the things that you're bad at, try and improve the things that you're good at, then there's nothing really stopping you and there's a lot of talented people out there who have autism and they're amazing and they can do things that I couldn't even dream of. It's not a bad thing, definitely. Speaker 12 39:09 - 39:15 Where can you see yourself in like 10 years time? Have you got a dream? Have you got any dreams that you would like to do? Speaker 7 39:16 - 39:45 I would like to be a figure for autism. I want to be a person who will stand up for autistic people. I want to be someone who will influence policies, both in school and in workplaces, to try and tackle the mental health statistics around autism, which are absolutely absurd. And I want the society to become more integrated together. Speaker 7 39:45 - 40:03 I feel like there's a big disconnect both from the autistic community feeling like they're not getting any help and they're not being integrated in society and the rest of the world who don't understand that we're here and there's a lot of people suffering. Speaker 12 40:03 - 40:33 I went along to support a friend who's on the spectrum who was claiming ESA but for some reason they stopped it. February the 7th and it was because she couldn't get along to the appointment because she was basically supporting her father who had Parkinson's. The build-up of stress for this poor woman and then when we went into the room she just burst into tears. And at first it was a little bit prickly in the interview, but I then sort of, you know, we started chatting. Speaker 12 40:33 - 40:47 She had very low self-confidence. You could see it was really affecting her mental health. So I just said, get your laptop out, show them what you can do. And she's so good at putting to the last penny, she puts budgets together for films and what have you. Speaker 12 40:47 - 41:04 And as soon as she opened up her laptop, you could see the stress level go down. This chap was so impressed. And the interview just completely changed and went on another level. So that's what I'm saying is that, you know, that you just need to for me, you need to think out the box the way you work with people all the time. Speaker 12 41:04 - 41:28 Everyone's not the same. So focus on something positive that they're good at then hopefully you'll get more. I had to keep refocusing it back to why we were at the meeting in the end because obviously we wanted the end goal. But yeah, I just think that the system, I just think it's too complicated at the minute and there's too many people saying that they work together and they just don't like education, health and social services. Speaker 12 41:28 - 41:37 I knew when this EHC plea plan came out and they said, oh, it was about the three organisations working together. But it's just not happening. It's never happened. It's never going to happen. Speaker 12 41:37 - 41:59 So, yeah, I think we just need to make some serious changes within the special educational needs and disability world. So if you'd like to be one of my speakers on all things autism, please contact me on www.annakennedyonline.com. I am fully booked until the end of May, but please contact me and share what you want to talk about. Speaker 3 42:03 - 42:05 Welcome to Women's Radio Station. Speaker 6 42:06 - 42:11 Hello and welcome to Future Classic Women Awards with me, Stefania Passamonte on Women's Radio Station. Speaker 10 42:12 - 42:15 Hello and welcome to Judy May Is Listening. Speaker 12 42:15 - 42:22 Hi, this is Anna Kennedy and we're at women's radio station supporting women's well-being and we're talking all things autism. Speaker 3 42:22 - 42:27 Women, the possibilities are endless. That's what makes us different. Speaker 5 42:31 - 42:38 Hi, I'm Meg Matthews. And I'm Carolyn Van Beers. Join us for a brand new show on Women's Radio Station. It's the Meg's Menopause Show. Speaker 5 42:38 - 42:55 Yes, for the first time on radio, there's an entire show dedicated to the menopause. A fresh new approach where we inform you of all the choices and treatments that are out there. Supportive and empowering, this is your show. So join us every week with a host of celebrity guests. Speaker 5 42:55 - 42:59 Our very own resident doctor. Where we talk about everything menopause. Speaker 9 43:01 - 43:27 Hi, I'm Lauren Mishkon. I'm a birth doula 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. Speaker 9 43:27 - 43:31 Please join us for an informative and fun hour. Speaker 8 43:31 - 43:55 My name is Ingrid Marsh and I host the radical wellbeing show supporting women's wellbeing. On my show I bring you ordinary women like me and you who are sharing their unique stories. Women who have refused to be defined by their pains, to be silenced by stigma or crushed by stereotypes and who are taking back their power. And together our mission is a simple one and that's to inspire you to kick away the roadblocks too. Speaker 8 43:55 - 44:00 To don your wings and be the person that you were born to be. Speaker 11 44:01 - 44:22 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 5 a.m. and 5 p.m. Throughout my shows, we'll talk about the books I've read, new releases, chat to authors, publishers, and book enthusiasts, all with a theme and aim of supporting women's emotional well-being. Speaker 11 44:22 - 44:30 If you have a book to tell us about, get in touch at presentersatwomensradiostation.com. Join me on my show and share my love of books and writing. Speaker 3 44:33 - 45:00 You're listening to Women's Radio Station, supporting women's well-being. 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 programs. Speaker 12 45:01 - 45:13 Hello, this is Anna Kennedy. We're talking all things autism. My guest today is Thomas Henley. Before we go back over to Thomas, just to remind you about the Autism Hero Awards, our charity Hero Awards. Speaker 12 45:13 - 45:33 They will be happening in November at the Chelsea Harbour Hotel. If you would like to nominate somebody, the closing date is September, the first week in September. There's 12 different categories, so check out the categories on the Autism Hero Awards. So if you know someone who goes the extra mile, someone like Thomas here, someone might like to nominate Thomas. Speaker 12 45:34 - 46:02 So anyway, a teacher, or it could be a carer, could be a parent, you could be a reporter that writes particularly well, you could be a business Somebody who goes the extra mile to make a difference for people on the autism spectrum. So again, it's the Autism Hero Awards, such a special event. Seven judges will have the difficult task of choosing three finalists for each category. And then I will choose one for the special recognition award. Speaker 12 46:02 - 46:36 So I'm so pleased I don't have to choose because it's so tough. They usually ask for extra time because they find it so difficult to choose three finalists for each category. So just to remind you, Thomas Henley, if you want to check out on YouTube, it's Asperger's Growth, Asperger's Growth on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram and Thoughty Oughty podcast for Apple podcasts and Spotify. So, Thomas, let me ask you, what is your life mission and what gives you the motivation to do so much despite all the barriers in front of you? Speaker 7 46:38 - 47:08 So I've never really had it great from a young age. I've grown up in a good family and my mum and dad have always been really supportive of me and what I want to do. But I remember being in the car after a particularly bad episode of depression. And I was doing my work and I was staring off into the distance and thinking, where do I go? Speaker 7 47:08 - 47:40 What am I supposed to do? And obviously that happened a lot of times when I was on my way to training. I always thought of a world where I would want to continue and I'd want to get over the difficulties that I'm having. And I always pictured myself talking about my experiences, sharing the things that I've been through and the things that I've overcome to people. Speaker 7 47:40 - 48:00 And that gave me some motivation to carry on. And obviously now I'm doing it now and it's amazing to think that a dream that I had in the car and a promise that I made to myself about eight years ago is actually beginning to manifest itself. Speaker 12 48:00 - 48:10 You're obviously quite disciplined. Would you say you're focused and disciplined and like do you sort of map things out what you want to do and then you get there like you see a goal and it's like I'm going for it now. Speaker 7 48:10 - 48:16 Mm-hmm. So anything like I want to write a book so I'm on my fourth chapter of my book now. Brilliant. Speaker 12 48:17 - 48:41 When you hold it in your hand it'll be the best experience. I only did one book and everyone keeps saying write the second one but I just don't have time but when you have it in your hand it's so weird. I remember running around the lounge holding it and then I spoke about it on Fee Glover's programme on Radio 4 and then it became bestseller and it was just like amazing. It was quite therapeutic writing about it. Speaker 12 48:42 - 49:02 And really weird that when I was in Clacton, because I had a ghostwriter to help me, he was actually just visiting Clacton and he was having a meal and he saw I was in the theatre and he left the meal to come and say hello and give me a hug. I was weird looking at him thinking I wasn't expecting to see you here, Ivan. And then he just said, I just wanted to say hello. Speaker 12 49:02 - 49:08 And then off he went back to his meal. So that was lovely. So do you know what you might call your book? Have you got a title? Speaker 7 49:09 - 49:23 I'm hoping that it would be called Heartland. It's a fictional book and the lead character is autistic, of course. Brilliant. It's very different to anything I've ever read or seen, so it's hit and miss, but I'm just enjoying it. Speaker 7 49:23 - 49:28 It's very much a meditative thing for me. Yeah. Speaker 12 49:28 - 49:44 I've had quite a few books that people ask me to review, so if you want me to review it, I will do it. Yeah, I will do. Shit's over. So what would you like to say to anyone who's struggling with being autistic in this world, or even struggling with mental health? Speaker 12 49:44 - 49:48 Because obviously, autism and mental health can't go hand in hand. Speaker 7 49:49 - 50:20 Of course. I think the main thing is if you are not enjoying life, if you're in some mental pain or anything like that and you can't see a light at the end of the tunnel, you don't know where to go, you need to find your own fire and you need to use those negative experiences to fuel your journey forward. find a meaning and work tirelessly to achieve it. Speaker 7 50:21 - 50:47 There's nothing more painful than pointless suffering. So suffer for a reason, and if you can't escape it, you need some focus and drive to bring yourself forwards. And in my case, that was my taekwondo, and that was my university, and all of those things have been a reason for the misery that I used to have. It is getting better. Speaker 7 50:47 - 51:05 It's just about finding the avenue up, getting used to the darkness and adjusting to it and realizing that what is in the dark isn't what you should be afraid of. It's just the dark itself. This sounds very philosophical. Speaker 12 51:07 - 51:24 I was just asking, because I've spoken to a few autistic adults as well, talking about counselling. Do you think it was beneficial for you? Because I've spoken to some people where they go, oh, I went to counselling, it didn't do anything for me, they didn't fix me. So have you ever tried it? Speaker 12 51:24 - 51:32 Any tips on that? And I've just asked you this out of the blue, but it's just because I've spoken to a few people about counselling. What do you think? Speaker 7 51:32 - 51:36 I went to counselling for about four or five years. Speaker 12 51:36 - 51:37 Okay. Speaker 7 51:37 - 51:38 Didn't do anything for me. Speaker 12 51:38 - 51:44 Didn't it? No. So why didn't it? Could you sort of pinpoint why you think it didn't do anything for you? Speaker 7 51:44 - 52:23 Because I think a lot of the counselling services that are out there, the ones that are available on the NHS and the ones that are available for most people, they are not tailored towards autistic people. We work differently, the reasons for why we feel anxious and why we feel depressed are very different. And it only takes someone who has a knowledge, a good knowledge of autism to go into counseling, to do psychotherapy for it to have an effect. But unless you have a good personal understanding of autism, that counseling is, it's just someone talking to you. Speaker 7 52:23 - 52:34 You may as well watch a video about, or read a medical journal about what helps you. It wasn't very helpful for me at all. I didn't really like it. Speaker 12 52:34 - 52:47 So can you remember what the turning point was for you when you were feeling so low and depressed that it pulled you out of it? Could you sort of pinpoint where the turning point was and why? Is that a difficult question? Speaker 7 52:47 - 53:11 I think there's always been things that I've latched onto to try and pull myself out of it. The first was achieving. things, you know, like the taekwondo. And I think the biggest thing that sort of turned my life around was the recent, the sort of semi-recent passing of my granddad, who passed away when I was in Thailand. Speaker 7 53:12 - 53:16 Okay. So it's... Are you close to him? Yeah, I was close to him. Speaker 7 53:17 - 53:30 He was a very big inspiration for me. He was a lovely guy, very kind, very... You know, he cried when I brought home the Commonwealth Trophy. And he was an amazing, amazing man and he was always really supportive for me. Speaker 7 53:31 - 54:14 And he told me... a few things that i don't want to i don't want to talk about all of them no he basically said you need to stay in thailand you need to help people and you need to learn as much as you can right and i had to sort of pull myself together to bring my family together and properly mourn and properly conduct myself and manage my emotions and I promised myself at that point that I would stop thinking of when the end will be and just going to keep going on and trying to help people and pull people out of pain and misery as much as possible. Speaker 12 54:14 - 54:30 What do you do to relax? Because obviously I talk about this every week because obviously we're a show about well-being. And a lot of parents I speak to forget to do things to relax because they're so focused on what they're doing. They've got so much stuff to juggle. Speaker 12 54:30 - 54:36 But as a person who's on the spectrum, what do you do to relax to help you recharge your batteries? Speaker 7 54:38 - 54:44 put some noise cancelling headphones on, play some chilled out music, or any music to be honest. Speaker 12 54:44 - 54:46 What music are you into? Out of interest? Speaker 7 54:46 - 54:59 Anything, electro swing, heavy metal, ghetto rap. Heavy metal would not have relaxed me! Piano, classical, a bit of the Ink Spots, you know, from a while ago. Speaker 12 55:00 - 55:05 Yeah, my son, it's rap music. He loves Eminem. Well, he used to love Eminem. He thinks he's not as good now. Speaker 12 55:06 - 55:20 But he was a big Eminem fan and he used to find the words in his lyrics used to help him get rid of a bit of frustration. So, OK, so music. Would you say your Taekwondo was sort of a Speaker 7 55:20 - 55:30 Oh definitely. And for anxiety is any sort of physical exertion. I damaged my leg when I was in Thailand. Oh did you? Speaker 12 55:30 - 55:31 How did you do that? Speaker 7 55:31 - 55:42 Motorbikes. So I'm boxing now. I'm down at Harrogate boxing gym. Harrogate ABC. Speaker 7 55:42 - 55:57 And that's just a relief for me, there's nothing really that can remove my anxiety like fully emptying my tanks. Other than that, creative outlets, that's a big thing for me, writing, art. Speaker 12 55:57 - 56:26 So we've come to the end of the program already. It's been a pleasure talking to you and you're an inspirational and a role model for me. And if people would like to see more of what you do, it's Asperger Growth YouTube, Asperger Growth Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, Thoughty Oughty podcast, Apple podcast and Spotify. If you want to check out our charity website of anything that we've spoken about today, we're going to be writing an article as well and sharing it on the charity website very soon. Speaker 12 56:26 - 56:48 So that's www.annakennedyonline.com. I'm at annakennedy1 on Twitter, annakennedyonline on Facebook, and at annakennedyOBE on Instagram. Check out our YouTube, the highlights are created by Ryan, who's one of our charity ambassadors there. So again, Thomas, thank you so much for traveling all the way from Harrogate. Speaker 12 56:48 - 56:54 It's been a pleasure listening to you, and I hope you got quite a bit out of sharing your info today. Speaker 7 56:55 - 56:57 Thank you very much for having me on. It's been really fun. Speaker 12 56:57 - 57:01 Oh, thank you so much. So goodbye, everyone, and have a good week. Speaker 3 57:03 - 57:30 Welcome to the women's radio station supporting women's well-being. Women's Radio Station is all about diversity, from opinions, career, ethnicity, education, and most importantly, women's well-being. 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. Speaker 4 57:32 - 57:52 Hi, everyone, and welcome to The Femaling Show. I am your host, Nicole Goodman, and I am a woman's identity expert and coach. As women, we fall into different phases of identity throughout adult life, and during these, our challenges can look pretty similar. Here at WRS, I will be talking to you about the real issues we all face, and even the ones we can silently struggle with. Speaker 4 57:53 - 58:01 Through honest, heartfelt conversation here at Femaling, you will learn how to accept yourself, understand yourself, and be yourself. Speaker 5 58:02 - 58:17 Hi, I'm Carolyn Van Biers. Please join me for a brand new show here on Women's Radio Station. It's Mother's Hour. If, like me, you're a mum juggling far too many balls and dropping most of them, this is definitely the show for you. Speaker 5 58:18 - 58:32 We'll examine the highs and lows of motherhood and make sure you laugh out loud as we take on this challenging role together. With spoonfuls of advice, incredible stories, it will be a refreshing, honest and funny look at being a mum. Speaker 13 58:32 - 58:43 I'm Tamina Zaman, founder of Empower & Enrich. When it comes to money, do you clam up or get confused? Do you wish you could save more money, or are you hoping you have enough for retirement? You are not alone. Speaker 13 58:43 - 59:01 Many women want to be smarter with their cash, but just don't know where to start. At EmpowerAndEnrich.org, you will find a host of options to help you take charge of your finances and learn how to put your money to work for you in an easy, affordable way. Get in touch with me at EmpowerAndEnrich.org, and let's change your future together. Speaker 2 59:03 - 59:18 Are you struggling with money? Turn to Us is a national charity helping people struggling to make ends meet. Job loss, illness or bereavement can cause a real financial crisis. We give practical help to get people back on track. Speaker 2 59:19 - 59:31 Whether you're thinking of having a baby, trying to get out of an unhappy relationship or just unsure what benefits you may be entitled to, we can help. Visit turntous.org.uk Speaker 3 59:34 - 59:55 Welcome to the Women's Radio Station, supporting women's wellbeing. Women's Radio Station can give voice to your brand with a wide range of sponsorship opportunities, including individual programmes. We can tailor your experience for you. For more information on how you can sponsor a show, go to womensradiostation.com. Speaker 3 59:56 - 59:59 Women's Radio Station, supporting women's wellbeing.