Has your child ever felt like they don’t fit in anywhere? Or like no-one understands what things feel like?

Maybe they feel like they’re the only person in the world who looks, moves or thinks like they do.

Cathy Reay, disabled writer, journalist, and single mum to two disabled children, wants your child to know that they are not alone. They belong in the world exactly as they are.

This is the message of Cathy’s new book, ‘How to be disabled and proud (or at least kinda sorta okay with it)’. Described as a “powerful call to action for both disabled and non-disabled children”, the book aims to encourage readers to advocate for a more accessible world and to inspire them to embrace their disabled identity. Written for children aged nine and up, it’s also an essential guide to growing up disabled. From navigating school life, finding disabled community and building confidence, to facing challenges like bullying and discrimination and learning how to value and celebrate yourself, just as you are.

In this episode, we're delighted to welcome Cathy to talk about her new book - and listen out at the end for some moments that made you proud of your disabled child.

Transcript: https://contact.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Podcast-episode-2-transcript.pdf

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We're relaunching our podcast with something a little different to what we’ve done before.

In this rebooted series of our podcast, we’ll be featuring more interviews and guest contributions, and on the whole exploring the issues we know families care about in a little more depth.

Our first episode is all about helping your disabled child make the move to secondary school. We speak to Caroline Klage, brain injury solicitor and parent to three neurodiverse children, who shares her strategies and top tips for preparing for the move.

We also hear from Bridie from our helpline team, who explains what national offer day is in England and Wales and what options you have when you've been offered a school place.

Download a transcript of this podcast: https://contact.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Transcript-helping-your-disabled-child-move-onto-secondary-school.pdf

Host: Harriet Squirrel

Producers: Michele Cefai, RJ Dale, Tom Bobbin

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.