Welcome to the Expanding Worlds Podcast
Recent episodes
216 Springboard Into Success: Building Work Ready Skills with Francesca Diana
In this episode, Debra Caldow talks to Francesca Diana from Springboard who shares insights on the challenges of finding work experience. She explores potential solutions, such as increasing business support and involving families in building confidence and essential...
215 Creating Living Plans: Adapting For Tomorrow with Debra Caldow
In this episode, host Debra Caldow talks about the importance of dynamic planning in areas like education, work, housing, and finances. She explains that while planning is important, it needs to change as life changes and sticking too strictly to one plan can hold...
214 Empowering Independence: Lessons From Experience with Ben Simmonds
In this episode, Debra Caldow continues her conversation with Ben Simmonds as he provides insights into how parents and educators can better support young people with additional needs. He discusses the importance of listening to and understanding individual...
Our Focus


Young people with additional needs should have the opportunity to live independently in a way right for them. The podcast is about sharing stories and sharing solutions that enable parents and carers to support them on this path to greater independence.
Independence for most people consists of three things:
1) Having a Purpose for the day – usually paid employment, but possibly a place to go to make a contribution to the world.
2) Having the Daily Living skills for independence – being able to look after ourselves, cooking, shopping.
3) Having Relationships with family, friends and maybe even a partner one day.
There is also an additional consideration that serves as the foundation of all these – Financial. Like it or not money often dictates how we live our lives, and we need to confront the issue of how our children will survive financially when we are gone.
For more information visit redgiraffesolutions.com
All Episodes
212 The Question We All Want An Answer To with Debra Caldow
In this episode, host Debra Caldow addresses the critical question of what happens to our children, when we are no longer around. She outlines some of the challenges family members may face if they are expected or were to assume taking over the role of main support....
211 Transforming Care with Shared Values with Tom Roberts from the Brighton and Hove Care Co-operative
In this episode, Debra Caldow continues her conversation with Tom Roberts from the Brighton and Hove Care Co-operative discussing some of the reasons why the cooperative approach isn’t as popular as it should be. He also talks about the benefits of cooperative care...
210 The Future of Care? A Cooperative Approach with Tom Roberts from the Brighton and Hove Care Co-operative
In this episode, Debra Caldow talks to Tom Roberts, Chair of the Brighton and Hove Care Co-operative, about how the cooperative model offers an alternative approach to providing care and support. He explains the concept of care cooperatives as organizations that are...