I am a wife and proud mum to two now adult sons (the youngest of whom is autistic), a children’s author and art teacher.
When my children began school (all those years ago)! I supported a young, autistic child in nursery and enjoyed it so much that this started my passion of working with children with additional needs (working in Early Years for 13 years). I have worked in SEND education now for over 23 years (currently ad-hoc in a post 16 alternative provision) and I also volunteer as a parent support worker for a local Autism charity.
During Covid I began crafting gnomes to sell at Christmas, which sparked an idea of writing a children’s book. So many parents/carers were worried about their children, so I wanted it to be fun and uplifting, but also gently highlight the importance of talking about your emotions. After my book was published I decided to create a workbook where children could use art as a way of expressing their emotions and also designed a fun card game. These were the first two items on my website, to which I have now added more children’s social and emotional literacy resources.
I’m so pleased that they are being used by parents, schools and play therapists.