Ep 14: What is Normal Anyway?

In today’s episode, Sarah Billingham is joined by Lauren Fenton and Rina Teslica, the hosts of the podcast F**king Normal. In this episode, Lauren and Rina share their journey of navigating the challenges of parenting a child with special educational needs (SEN) while balancing self-compassion and guilt. They explore the importance of seeking outside support, managing the mental load, and the role of self-care. Tune in for an honest, heartfelt, and sometimes humorous conversation about the realities of raising children with SEN.Here are the Highlights:04:34 Parenting and caring for special needs children.08:28 Struggling with delegation and need for support.12:06 Seeking a rational voice and combatting loneliness in SEN parenting.13:01 Grieving process and denial in the parenting journey.17:24 Challenges of advocating for a disabled child's needs.25:24 Logistics and admin take up time.27:14 Raising a SEND child requires significant effort.35:27 Parenting Lua led to a career shift and satisfaction.37:52 Describing everyday parenting experiences and finding joy.About Sarah Billingham:Sarah Billingham is a specialist speech and language teacher with a focus on emotional regulation. Her service, Confident Kids, equips parents, carers and practitioners with expert knowledge and the practical tools they need through training, coaching and group programmes. Becoming a parent changed Sarah’s perspective on parenting and early childhood development and deepened her interest in understanding the regulation needs of both children and their families.  Qualifying in 2004, she initially worked in mainstream primary education and went on to lead a specialist speech and language resource base. She worked as Assistant Headteacher at a specialist SLCN school for five years and went on to lead their independent multidisciplinary assessment service until December 2021.  Sarah was a committee member of NAPLIC (National Association of Professionals Supporting Language and Communication Development) for five years. She is a Regional Makaton Tutor. Connect with Sarah:Website -  https://www.confidentkids.co/Facebook -  https://www.facebook.com/confidentkids.coFB community -  https://www.facebook.com/groups/ConfidentTransitionsInstagram @confidentkids.coFree downloads: Choosing a School for a Child with Additional Needshttps://www.subscribepage.com/z1k2j3_copyEasing Your Child’s Communication Frustrationhttps://www.subscribepage.com/z1k2j3_copy_copyHow do I know if my Child’s Emotional Outbursts are ‘Normal’?https://www.subscribepage.com/z1k2j3_copy_copy_copyAbout Laura Fenton and Rina TeslicaLauren Fenton and Rina Teslica are the hosts and two of the founders of the F**king Normal Podcast. Along with a larger group of parents of disabled children they wanted to reach out and create a community of support for parents and carers who share their experiences. Lauren’s youngest daughter Bea was born in 2015...