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Podcast Episode 71 Sometimes it’s the small ideas that can have the biggest impact and this is certainly the case with this week’s guest Ric Womersley from Spotlight Brewing. Ric founded Spotlight Brewing to make great beer whilst providing genuine employment opportunities for people with additional needs. Not only is Spotlight Brewing doing this very successfully but through their products they are educating their customers about the challenges people with additional needs can face.

In this episode Ric discusses some of the practical issues around setting the brewery up and running it. He also talks about the challenges they faced as a small business finding equipment, training as well as the obvious challenge of how to fund everything they needed. Spotlight Brewing is a social enterprise and Ric also outlines why he chose that structure over other options. He also talks about what’s next for Spotlight Brewing.

Spotlight Brewing is a perfect example of taking an idea and flipping the switch to get it started. The results are already amazing. Spotlight Brewing might be small now but it’s growing fast, not only in sales and the reach of its products, but, in influencing opinions and changing perceptions of what people with additional needs can contribute to business and community.

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Podcast Episode 72 Everyone has unique skills; everyone is a specialist in something. This is something this week’s guest Thorkil Sonne from Specialisterne understands completely. Specialisterne translates from Danish as “The Specialists” is an organisation focused on helping young people with additional needs find meaningful employment. The focus is on matching the skills of the individual with the role not trying to make the person fit the job.

Specialisterne have also developed a unique approach to assessing the skill of individuals in a way that enables them to showcase their individual skills as well as show how they work in a team. This is in recognition that traditional interview approaches limit the opportunities for young people with additional needs to fully illustrate what they are capable of.

Specialisterne also work with employers proactively, to not only help them maximise the skills of their employees but, with practical support around what reasonable adjustments might be necessary in any workplace.

Specialisterne also has a much wider purpose than just helping people find work, they are on a mission to show employers how they are missing out on utilising an incredible pool of talented individuals with specialist skills that could give their organisation a competitive advantage.

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Podcast Episode 73 Emotions are part of being human. But for many of us there are times when we wish we had better tools to manage our emotions. This can be especially true for young people with additional needs who often face extra internal and external emotional triggers. In this episode we hear from Dana Bishop a Relax Kids coach on some of the strategies that can be used to not only manage the way we feel but to harness these feelings and increase our mental health wellbeing.

Dana shares the 7 steps model of Relax Kids explaining each step and providing examples of how has used it. The steps model work around the idea that you can’t just decide to relax but rather you need to go through a series of steps which will help you get to that relaxed state you are after. Some of the tools Dana talks about are one’s we have all heard of like breathing exercises and affirmations but she provides a timely reminder that it’s the simple ideas which are still the best.

Being able to understand and manage emotions is key for our young people in their daily lives and a skill that most will need to explicitly learn. The Relax Kids model of understanding that to relax is a process not just an end, and knowing what the steps are, will be for many people an invaluable addition to their emotional toolbox.

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Podcast Episode 74 We all appreciate the importance of good mental health but sometimes lack the toolbox and even the support to consistently achieve it. This is often the case for young people, particularly those with an additional need. In this episode we are talking with Kimmy Obo from Kooth a UK based organisation offering an innovative way of delivering support when and where young people want it.

Kimmy explains what Kooth offers and how it supports young people particularly at those times where they are not sure who to reach out to. Kimmy also discusses healthy coping strategies that young people can use to manage their mental health and activities that contribute to positive feelings of well-being.

Kooth is an innovative service taking advantage of the benefits that technology can bring to all of us when used in the right ways. But even with the use of technology it is all still about people reaching out and supporting each other reminding each other as Kimmy does that we all have good and bad days and we all need to work on our own positive mental health.

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Podcast Episode 75 If not now when? Planning for the future can be scary for anyone but it’s especially hard when that planning is for a young person who we know will face any number of challenges as they navigate towards their ideal life.

In this episode Carol Wakeford from Heartventure shares her story about how she and husband have planned and then worked towards providing an independent future for their son. Carol talks about the original idea she had of starting a dating agency and why that original model didn’t work and how it has now transformed into a different model which provides not only a social life for her son and his friends but also helps to break down barriers and build wider understanding in the local community.

Carol also talks about independent living in terms of how to create a supported living house for young people. She discusses the practical challenges of making it work and how to find the right people to work with.

Planning for a future, we won’t always be a part of, isn’t ever going to be easy. Planning though can not only provide our young people with the security of realistic options it can provide us with peace of mind and help us stop asking what happens when I’m no longer around.

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Podcast Episode 76 For many young people with additional needs finding a job can be incredibly challenging. It takes planning and for most requires them to go way outside their comfort zone. This week’s guest Dr Michael Reiter runs work readiness workshops and he talks us through the three areas he focuses on to help the emerging adults in the group find and keep a job.

Michael talks about the importance of setting goals and making sure these are SMART as well as identifying the types of jobs a young person might like to do but also has the required skills to do. He discusses the interview process and the fact that as much as this is about the practical things like being able to answer questions it’s also about the ability to manage your own anxiety. Interviews are stressful for most people so ways to help manage that stress, so you still are able to perform at your best is a key part of finding work. Finally he discusses how they address the after you have the job issue looking at the social skills required in a workplace and how to manage those.

Michael talks about the need to have realistic expectations around work but for the emerging adults he works with using this approach he is actually providing them with a realistic change of finding and keeping a job.

Getting a job for our young people will probably never be easy but by helping them prepare properly, using a model like this, and giving them greater autonomy to plan their own work future we are helping increase the probability it will happen one day.

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Podcast Episode 77 When we’re young we think we can do anything, be anyone, achieve everything. But as many of us get older we learn to fit into the box of expectations. For young people with additional needs this box can be small, with many assuming that they will not be entering the employment market any time soon.

This week’s guest Alison Thwaite, the Employment Development Manager of the WorkFit programme run by the Down’s Syndrome Association, does not agree. She offers a much better model of presumed employment.

Presumed employment comes from the angle that employment will happen at some stage and works towards that time. The WorkFit program takes young people though the process of deciding what jobs they might like to do while also helping them be realistic in terms of the skills they have. In addition, they are helped to identify whether there are local employers that can offer the roles they may be suited for.

Alison talks about the wider issues around why young people with additional needs find getting paid employment a challenge, as well as the role that parents play – this can be very positive but occasionally can also restrict opportunities and hinder progress. She also discusses the importance of supporting employers, educating fellow employees, and providing ongoing support to ensure that the transition into paid employment is not only as smooth as possible but is also sustainable in terms of the individual staying in a role and even advancing within the company.

If presumed employment was a reality for all young people with additional needs who do want a paid job, then we really could see an inclusive society where people are valued for themselves as individuals and not for any label they may have been given.

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Podcast Episode 78 When we go to the theatre we see a different world than the one we live in. Theatre can broaden our horizons challenge our perceptions and this is exactly what the CO/LAB Theater Group aims to do. CO/LAB provides, people with additional needs, a space to be creative and along the way change their perceptions of themselves as well as the perceptions of the communities they live in.

This week guests are Becky Leifman Co-founder of CO/LAB and Liz one of the CO/LAB actors. Becky discusses why and how CO/LAB came about, through the passion of a few friends to provide a creative outlet for a group of people who don’t always have those opportunities. She also discusses the challenges along the way including those around funding. Becky also talks about the wider role that CO/LAB seeks to have in the wider community to educate people about the talents and skills of the CO/LAB actors. Liz talks about the impact that being at CO/LAB has had on helping her develop her skills as an actor whilst also widening her social network. She also talks about the impact CO/LAB has also had in terms of her increased self-confidence.

The CO/LAB Theater Group is not only providing a space for creativity for people with additional needs it is building a community of like-minded people that understand the importance of creativity in being human.

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Podcast Episode 79 Sometimes we need to change direction quickly and find the right information so that we can make an informed decision as to which road we need to take. This week’s guest Kerrie Highcock helps provide that information. Kerrie is the Family Development Manager at North East Autism Society, and her role is not only to provide support but to help people identify where to find information that is useful for their particular situation.

Kerrie talks about the importance for anyone who has been diagnosed with autism, and their families, recognising that they need support; but it does need to be the right kind of support focused on the positives, not treating autism as a negative in someone’s life.

Kerrie also talks about the need for everyone to move away from awareness and understanding to acceptance. She also talks about the importance of listening and learning from the young person who has the additional need, finding out what they want and for them to be talking to each other because they understand the challenges more.

After all we all need to ultimately be in charge of our own journeys and for some people they need a facilitator more than a carer.

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Podcast Episode 80 The average person has between 12-15 jobs in their work life. This makes developing transferable skills an essential part of any employability training. A great example of how to make this happen comes from Sunflower Bakery. This week’s guest Sara Portman Milner, co-founder of Sunflower Bakery, shares their story as well as offering advice to anyone thinking of starting a similar enterprise.

Sara details what Sunflower Bakery does to help young people with additional needs develop transferable skills which they can use to help them gain employment once they finish their training. She explains exactly how the different aspects of the training program works. Sara also talks about the ways in which the training programs build confidence in young people while focusing on helping them in a way that works best for their individual needs.

Sara shares her top tips from her experience with Sunflower Bakery for anyone considering starting a similar enterprise, including finding the right people to help within building the enterprise and also reaching out to the local community. Sara’s main advice, though, comes back to just starting. The story of Sunflower Bakery serves as a reminder of how true the saying is: every journey begins with a single step.

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