It’s not often that you get asked to be interviewed about all the things that you love and are passionate about. So to be asked by Anna Kennedy OBE to be her first guest on her Women’s Radio Station (WRS) live programme was such a great honour.
It was so lovely to go down to the recording studios of WRS just off Covent Garden to be part the show. I can’t believe how nervous I was. It was all fine until we sat down and put on our headphones, then I knew it was all real.
Thankfully, Anna has a lovely way of keeping you calm and engaged. In the end, we just didn’t have enough time to talk about all the things that we wanted to talk about – but we did manage to get in some of the most important things that we’re working on.
In particular, we talked about the AKO Autism Expo which will be held at Brunel University on 23rd March. We briefly spoke about the speakers which include Alessandra Bester, Joanna Gibbs, Paul Goodwin, Siena Castellon, Matty Street and Andrea Leighton.
We also have the very popular autism experience bus attending again this year. That is something not to be missed and I love talking to people before and after they try the bus. It’s quite a profound experience and for many life-changing.
We both agreed that this is something that should be compulsory for parents/carers and everyone who works with people with any sort of sensory processing disorder including autism. Ticket for the event costs £10 and can be booked from our website.
We were also very excited to briefly touch on our flagship event which is Autism’s Got Talent. We have had so many entries and it’s exciting to see how many people want to show the world how amazing they are.
We are so proud of all the people that have ever entered or taken part in the event it’s a real tear-jerker for us every year, but we are immensely proud. I don’t envy my colleagues Anna and Lisa for their job of selecting acts for this year’s show – It’s so challenging!
I also managed to briefly talk about two other passions in my life and they are the Fragile X Society and Ollie and His Superpowers.
My 16-year-old son has a dual diagnosis of autism and fragile X. Fragile x is one of the most commonly known disorders for learning disabilities. It’s a genetic disorder which can be identified via a blood test. I made the point of how important it is to get a diagnosis so that your child has the best start in life particularly with regards to learning styles and education.
Another most important aspect of my life is Ollie and his Super Powers. I have been totally blown away by its founder and creator Alison Knowles. I have learned and laughed so much with Alison and her team.
Our aim is to get as many people trained to become Ollie coaches as possible so that we can provide early intervention to children within a school setting or a private practice with any mental health issues.
We want to equip children with a toolkit of strategies to deal with everything that life throws at them so that children can take these skills with them throughout their lives.
We have had the most tremendous feedback from everyone that has either heard Alison speak or attended one of our training sessions in London, and now also in Manchester.
Thank you again, Anna and the Women’s Radio Station for such a fabulous show talking about ‘All Things Autism‘ – I’m definitely tuning in every week.
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Image credit: Freepik
Tally Nothey is passionate about helping society and raising autism awareness across the globe by making a difference through supporting Anna Kennedy Online.
