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“What works for a few children usually works for all. Why have special seats for special children when we can have a range of seats for everyone?”

In this inspiring episode of the Therapod Podcast, host Carolyn Gelenter sits down with Heba Al-Jayoosi, the SENCO and Assistant Head at Mayflower Primary School in East London. Heba shares the journey of their "Flexible Seating Revolution"—a radical shift in classroom design that replaces rigid rows with a menu of choices, including rocking chairs, standing desks, and wobble stools.

In this episode, we explore:

Inclusion by Design: How Mayflower moved away from stigmatizing "special adaptations" to a Universal Design for Learning approach where every child can choose the seating that meets their sensory needs.

The Chair Committee: How the project was co-produced with the children themselves, involving a "mammoth" survey of 357 pupils to ensure their voices led the change.

Movement as a Tool for Learning: Challenging the myth that choice leads to "silliness," Heba explains how movement actually improves concentration, peer collaboration, and motivation.

Normalizing Sensory Support: From "normalized" ear defenders available to all children to a "no rules" approach to seating, learn how removing stigma creates a sense of belonging.

Rigor vs. Relationships: How Mayflower became the highest attaining primary school in the UK in 2023 not through rigid control, but by prioritizing emotional safety and the "relational" side of teaching.

Whether you are an educator or a parent, this conversation is a powerful reminder that fairness isn't about everyone having the same—it’s about everyone having what they need to thrive.

#InclusiveEducation #FlexibleSeating #Neurodiversity #UDL #TherapodPodcast #MayflowerPrimary #SensorySupport #DLD #AutismAwareness #EducationInnovation

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“Teaching phonics before a child is ready is like taking a student driver on the motorway in their second lesson.”

In this episode of the Therapod Podcast, host Carolyn Gelenter sits down with Professor Helen Stringer from Newcastle University to explore the fundamental power of phonological awareness. While the education system often pushes formal phonics at age four, Professor Stringer explains that many children lack the underlying auditory skills needed to succeed, which can turn reading into a "trial" rather than a pleasure.

The conversation clarifies the vital difference between the two: phonological awareness is an auditory skill about how we deal with the words we hear in our brains, whereas phonics is a visual skill linking letters to sounds.

Key highlights from this episode include:

The Developmental Sequence: Why language develops from whole words to syllables and finally to individual sounds—and why jumping straight to sounds can lead to reading failure.

The NAPA & NIPA: An introduction to the Newcastle Assessment of Phonological Awareness and the Newcastle Intervention for Phonological Awareness—free, evidence-based tools designed to help practitioners support children effectively.

Vocabulary & Speech: How phonological awareness serves as the "hook" for learning new words and helps children with speech sound disorders resolve their difficulties more quickly.

A Social Justice Issue: A call to action to move away from "one size fits all" phonics programs and prioritize student readiness to ensure no child feels like a failure at age five.

Bilingual Advantages: Insights into how phonological awareness skills transfer across different languages, providing a bridge for children who speak more than one language.

Tune in to discover how moving "Beyond Phonics" can transform a child's journey into literacy and language.

#PhonologicalAwareness #Literacy #Phonics #SpeechAndLanguage #TherapodPodcast #InclusiveEducation #NAPA #NIPA #EarlyYears #Neurodiversity

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"If we could get away from diagnosis and think about a child's needs, that might make a big difference."

In this insightful episode of the Therapod Podcast: More Than Words, host Carolyn Gelenter is joined by Alison, a Speech and Language Therapist, Psychologist, and Deputy Director of Children’s Services, to explore the evolving landscape of autism and communication.

Together, they dive into the complexities of identifying and supporting neurodivergent children in 2025. Key topics include:

Differentiating DLD and Autism: Understanding the subtle differences in early history, nonverbal communication, and repetitive behaviors that help distinguish Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) from autism.

The "Invisible" Experience of Girls: A deep dive into masking, why girls have been historically underdiagnosed, and the mental health impact of "holding it in" during the school day.

A Needs-Led Approach: Why the focus must shift from "splitting hairs" over labels to providing functional, collaborative support that prioritizes social justice and the child’s voice.

Navigating the System: Addressing the "madness" of multi-year diagnostic wait times and the trend of pathologizing normal difficult feelings, such as stress and anxiety, in young children.

This episode is a call for a more inclusive, needs-based society where every child's unique way of thinking and communicating is understood and supported.

Tune in now to join the conversation!

Sponsored by Therapix, providing easy-to-understand, video-based strategies to help parents and teachers support children with additional needs.

#AutismAwareness #DLD #Neurodiversity #SpeechTherapy #TherapodPodcast #InclusiveEducation #SocialJustice