November 11, 2021

Coffee & Chromosomes

Podcast

We are really excited to announce the launch of a brand new podcast Coffee & Chromosomes, brought to you by Wouldn’t Change a Thing.  Hosted by Nisha & Hamel Soni (parents to one of our WCAT ambassadors Kush).

Coffee & Chromosomes looks to share stories of hope & inspiration, practical & helpful information, whilst also raising awareness amongst the wider community providing free access to credible information and real lived experiences. 

We aspire to help create a well informed, inclusive world for those living with Down syndrome, and provide help, support, guidance & advice to anyone who may need it.  We want to neutralize difference – because we are all different and we all need support. 

We have some brilliant guests lined up for Series 1 so please have a listen!  


Episode 0 – Introduction


Episode 1 – What is diagnostic overshadowing?

Have you ever been in A&E with your child/young person and feel like the doctors just aren’t hearing you when you say you know something isn’t right?  Are things you are pointing out being put down to their pre existing diagnosis?

Click below to listen to a brand new episode of Coffee & Chromosomes where we talk to Liz Herrieven – Consultant in Pediatric Emergency medicine

Liz talks about her professional journey as a doctor alongside her personal journey with her daughter Amy who has Down syndrome and autism and how it lead to her special interest in inequalities in healthcare.



Episode 2 – Teaching Maths Skills for Life

Do you pull your hair out trying to figure out how to help your young person progress in maths?  

Do you struggle to know where your start point is?  

Do you find it overwhelming and could do with some structured guidance? 

If you answered yes to any of those then this is an episode you should not miss.  Relevant to all parents – to typically developing children or otherwise, we speak to Karen McGuigan aka The Maths Mum who talks about how she began her journey in firstly helping parents support their children in maths and then went on to support schools and young people with additional needs to recognise the importance of maths in our everyday lives and how to adopt an approach to succeed in gaining maths skills for functional & practical use in life (Maths for Life!) 

Listen in to hear all of your maths prayers answered! 

You can follow Karen on her social media platforms using the following links:


Episode 3 – Speech & Language Therapy – The early years 0-7

Find out exactly how your speech therapists should be supporting your child in early years, how to get the right support, and what to do to find a way forward for your child if things aren’t going the way you had hoped. 

Speech and language therapy is about so much more than just verbal speech.  Your therapist should not only be able to support you in sound production, but in vocabulary development, reading, signing, feeding, social interactions, behaviour management…….the list goes on!! 

We speak to the lovely Leela Baksi from Symbol and talk all things SALT! 


Episode 4 –How far would you go to change the world for your child?

Would you take the government to court if you felt so passionately their laws were unfair?  

If I told you the general time limit to have an abortion is 24 weeks across the UK yet you could terminate a foetus with Down syndrome right up until the moment that baby entered the birth canal – what would you think?  

Is it morally wrong?  Ethically wrong?  Should it be LEGALLY wrong?  We speak to Maire Lea Wilson who brought a case against the UK government to reduce the legal limit to terminate an unborn baby with DS to 24 weeks.   

Tune in to hear her story, the background and motivations behind the case and how you can support should you wish. 


Episode 5 – All Things Vision!

Does your child with Down Syndrome watch their ipad far too close?  

Do they go right up to the TV screen to watch their favourite show? 

Want to know why? Our next episode reveals all! 

In our latest podcast we spoke with the wonder Maggie Woodhouse.  Maggie is a specialist Optometrist and Senior lecturer at Cardiff university.    

Excuse the pun – but what an eye opener this chat was!  It’s astonishing how underplayed the importance of eye checks are for our little ones from as little as 18 months old, and how much we can be doing to support.  We talk all things vision!  

Maggie explains to us how you can see (quite literally) through the eyes of your child/young person with Down syndrome

She reveals the differences between the sight of a typical child and a child with DS and we discuss challenges, a common condition to look out for in adulthood, glasses (and how to keep them on!), lenses, and much much more!  Maggie also reveals some really simple yet helpful modifications you can implement at school and home.  

A must listen for all parents, teachers & therapists, and especially those struggling to get the right support in their area! (Maggie will tell you how to find it!) Honestly one of my absolute favourite chats, Maggie is such a delight to talk to, she’s so lovely, authentic & down to earth.  We laughed, we ranted, we went completely off piste….but we learnt so much she’s such a fountain of knowledge!! Let us know your thoughts.


Episode 6 – A Candid Conversation

Have you ever wondered how and why the charity Wouldn’t Change a Thing came about?  Do you have any opinions on the chosen name of the charity? Would you take Down syndrome away from your child if you had the choice?  Are you clear on what the charity seeks to do and where they see their place amongst the number of organisations that exist?  Are you interested in getting involved in the charity and being part of more awareness campaigns?

We speak with the chairman of the charity; Jamie McCallum to shed light on all of this and a whole lot more!  I think you’ll find his thoughts really interesting…we certainly did!  Tune in to our latest podcast and let us know your views! 


Episode 7 – In conversation with Sue Buckley OBE

A lady who needs little introduction, but for those who may not know, Sue Buckley OBE is a global leading expert in education & development for young people with Down syndrome.  She began research in 1980 and founded Down Syndrome Education International in 1986.  Her research and contributions to the lives of young people with Down syndrome has been globally recognised through multiple awards and accolades.  

An eye opening conversation with Sue, we not only hear the heart warming story about her own journey as a mother to her daughter with Down syndrome, but her thoughts on supporting development, learning to talk, social development, schooling, inclusion and much much more!! 

Not one to miss – listen and subscribe to Coffee & Chromosomes.  


Episode 8: The importance of lifestyle, gut health, supplements and more! 

Do you give your young person who has Down syndrome any supplements, or wonder what you could do to further support their health and development? Have you ever looked into gut health and supporting your child’s genetic make up? Are we too quick to put any challenges our young people have to them ‘just having down syndrome” and should we look more into the root causes?   

Gabi Giacomin, founder and director of  The Conscious Pod talks to us about the importance of gut health, why gluten and dairy can sometimes negatively impact our little ones, healing the body, how to give individuals the optimal chance of success in all areas of their life, by supporting their genetic make up.   Gabi looks at epigenetics – a holistic view of lifestyle, diet, and environmental factors that affect your genes, and gets us thinking about how we can support/change the way our genes express themselves.  A wonderful insight into alternative ways to support our young people looking at things that in some cases you might not even think about! 

Check out this latest episode, and don’t forget to subscribe! 

www.theconsciouspod.com


Episode 9 – Don’t Be Sorry

Don’t Be Sorry 

Do you find it hard or feel guilty to admit it can be hard to be the parent of a child with additional needs sometimes?  Do you find comfort in hearing other parents open and honest accounts of their experiences?  

We speak with Sarah Roberts – mum of 3, author, public speaker, counsellor in training and award winning writer of the blog “Don’t Be Sorry”. Having found out postnatally that her eldest son Oscar had Down syndrome, she wanted to raise awareness about the condition but also give a very real and raw insight into both the challenges he faces, mixed with the beautiful life he leads.  

When Oscar was born, Sarah was told by the paediatrician who delivered the news that she was ‘sorry.’  Everything about the experience and the way the diagnosis was spoken of, was filled with sadness.  Much of Sarah’s efforts go into reaching audiences across the globe, that there is absolutely nothing to be sorry about. 

We talk about Sarah’s life since becoming a mum, her first book (which reached number 11 on the UK amazon best sellers list) her next book which is due out in August this year and much much more! 


New episodes will be available from wherever you get your podcasts from, every Thursday.  If there’s anyone in particular you would like to hear from or topics you’d like to learn more about just email us at podcast@wouldntchangeathing.org  and we will try and make it happen.