The Expanding Worlds Podcast Debra Caldow

Community is defined as people with common interests living in a particular area but in reality, it’s less about location and more about belonging, about connection and feeling part of something. In this episode, my guest is Sarah Towler and the organization we are talking about is CASPA which does all of these things and more. CASPA stands for Community Autistic Support Pride and Advocacy, and it provides a variety of support services to autistic/neurodivergent children and adults and their families. In our conversation, we talked about why community is so important and the ways CASPA supports its community. Having people to support us through the good and bad times will always be important and part of what makes us all human. 
https://caspabromley.org.uk/

Every day we all do the same things the same way because it’s these habits that make it easier to live our lives. Habits are just skills we have that we use over and over again and for my daughter with additional needs, all the skills she has built over time are now habits that allow her to live more independently. Those skills she has like cooking going to her job or managing her money, the things she does the same way each time are all her habits.  In this episode, I’m talking about some of the ideas around habits, the habit loop cue, routine, and reward, habit stacking, and the role motivation and ability play in developing habits.
Check Out The Red Giraffe Solutions Cooking Videos

The barriers to employment for young people with additional needs are high but that doesn’t mean it’s not possible as this week’s episode shows. In part 2 of my conversation with Adam and Deb, Adam talks about his experience of work and why his current role is working for him. Adam believes it comes down to the right support at the right time and matching the individual to the job.  

Sharing our stories helps us realize we are not alone. Hearing someone else’s story can also be a great way to learn new ideas we can use in our own family’s lives. In this episode, I’m sharing the story of Adam and his family. My guests are Adam, and his mother Deb. Adam talks about moving schools from a mainstream school to a specialist school as well as the challenges he found around transitioning out of full-time education.

We should all have the right to choose how we live our lives, even if that means taking risks and making mistakes. But too often people with additional needs aren’t being given opportunities to take risks and to learn from their mistakes. My guest this week Carol Smail shares her experiences of the impact this lack of choice has, as well as what can happen when people are given the opportunity to make their own choices. Too often the focus is on reducing risk, but that only reduces choice and doesn’t necessarily make anyone safer. 
Open Future Learning Video
 

Finding friends with common interests can be difficult for anyone and for young people with additional needs it is often more challenging because their social network is smaller. That is why projects like Gig Buddies are so important as my guest in this episode Carol Smail from Gig Buddies Sydney explains. Carol not only talks about the vision behind Gig Buddies but the role it plays in breaking down stereotypes about people with additional needs.
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Find out about the history of Gig Buddies - Episode 68 Stay Up Late