Kate and Mandy are talking to pea friend Deb who has twins who had twin-to-twin transfusion, and four of her five children are diagnosed with a hereditary bleeding disorder called haemophilia. Her children have spent a lot of time in the hospital and the family received a new diagnosis of Eldor Danlos syndrome (a connective tissue disorder) for the children just one day before Deb was talking to Kate and Mandy.
Watch a summary of Deb and her family on Matt & Kim to the Rescue here
Mandy & Kate received a beautiful gift handmade by Ellen J Crafts (on Facebook)
Mandy and Kate chat with the most awesome Meshel Laurie, about twin pregnancies, ADHD (and choosing to not medicate), they laugh a lot and talk about life, still in lockdown Melbourne
Meshel has the brilliant Australian True Crime podcast with Emily Webb (Kate is a huge fan)
This week, Kate & Mandy are talking to Travis Saunders. Travis is the presenter and producer of the award winning ABC podcast The Parenting Spectrum, a member of the Australian Autism Research Council, Vice Chair of the Board at Autism Camp Australia, an Education Consultant, Autism Advocate, professional speaker, adventurer and father to an incredible autistic son. He has taught in schools all over the world and worked with autistic students for more than 20 years. Travis travels the country presenting workshops and keynote addresses to students, parents, teachers and allied health professionals about autism, parenting and how to be a positive guide. In 2020, he was awarded the Autism Spectrum Australia ‘Parent / Carer of the Year. ’.
Make sure you’ll check out School of the Road (on Facebook) and organisation set up by Travis and his wife Fiona. They help workplaces and schools create supportive and inclusive partnerships with parents and carers to improve outcomes for children and adults with disabilities.
Also check out School of the Road website, where you can get a glimpse of the epic family cycling adventures that Travis, Fiona and Patch did together as a family.
Make sure you look after yourselves peas. Listen to Episode 08 of The Parenting Spectrum podcast, which is all about self-care for carers.
Patch’s and Travis’ favorite music is from the artist Sia, in particular her recent song Together (on Spotify)
Kate and Mandy chat about starting school for the first time in 2021, we talk with the ACD about their webinars that will be so beneficial to parents whose pea shoots are starting school next year.
Jenny from Association of Children with a Disability a pea mum herself will set your mind at ease. She has so many wonderful tips, there is also some pretty good stuff for general advocacy too!
Kate & Mandy are talking to Kate from Perth who has three children with additional needs who were diagnosed just before COVID shut everything down. She talks about what a regular day looks like for her with the early intervention program her children attend, and how invaluable additional support is for her children and family life.
Laugh / Cry / Make a Difference
Perth Kate made it on tv in the Australian children’s television game show A*mazing (back in the 90s)
Check out the Teeny Tiny Stevies on Spotify, especially the song ‘Abilities’
Mandy and Kate chat with the most divine Liz and Felic and we might all become best friends 😉 Listen to these sisters talk about the ripple effect of breast cancer then go buy a pink bun!
We were supposed to chat all about the Pink Bun Campaign and breast cancer but got a little sidetracked and decided to revolutionize the school system as well. Just typical pea stuff…
Kate & Mandy are talking to Mandy’s long time friend Becky who is a pea-mum of 9 year old Mister with ADHD, and is also a pea-shoot herself. She has a lot to tell us about!
Warning: be prepared to wet your pants laughing!! Kate & Mandy are reading out some incredibly funny, witty, cute and downright honest truth bombs from your amazing pea shoots.
Watch a little girl wanting bubbles to come back here
Watch another little girls’ reaction on lockdown here
