About me.
As a campaigner and parent activist, I am committed to ensuring people with learning disabilities are supported in living a good life and have the same opportunities as everyone else.
The driving force for all that I do are my own children and in particular my son Harry, who has Down’s syndrome. He has shown me that love, compassion, support and kindness are some of the most important human values and we should all commit to supporting those who need a little help, in order to lead a fulfilled and good life.
Having recently completed a MA in Social Policy (Uni of Birmingham), I have been able to use my knowledge of policy and disability to support charities with their policy work.
In 2023, I worked with a rights based organisation on a small community based project, which explored some of the issues faced by South Asian families, around disability, language, religious beliefs and stigma. The work was co-produced with families and learning disabled people from the South Asian community. (learn more)
I sit on a steering committee for a NIHR funded project, ‘Spinning Plates’ (Manchester Met University and Sheffield University), which is an exploration of the mental health experiences of adults and/or older carers of adults with learning disabilities. (learn more)
I have also been involved in delivering training on trauma-based working and the impact that trauma has on families of learning-disabled people and autistic people. The training was delivered to NHS workers in all seven regions of England. (learn more)
Working with a rights based organisation, I delivered anti-racism training to a self-advocacy organisation, that support learning disabled people. Once again, my lived experience as a carer and as a person of colour has allowed me to authenticate the training that has been delivered. (learn more)
As a public speaker, I have spoken at panel events on disability and social inclusion, most recently, at Guru Nanak Gurudwara in Smethwick. (watch on instagram)
I will be speaking at an event in Oxford in April 2024 (link) on my experience as a carer and about the importance of cultural differences and disability. (guest blog post)
The link to the talk ‘Disability, "Unfit” Bodies and Eugenics at Oxford Brookes University can be found on the media page.
I am a Trustee and Chair of a local charity in Sutton Coldfield which supports children with additional needs, alongside their siblings and parents/carers. We provide after-school clubs during term time, and holiday clubs during the school holidays. (learn more)
I have co-written a piece for Byline Times about the Down Syndrome Act and its divisive nature (read here), and I was interviewed by the Mail on Sunday about the Act. (read here)
I was invited to speak at Learning Disability England’s Online Conference 2024. You can access my presentation via the Blog page. (Read here.)
Kids Charity invited me to speak at a launch event for their report into ‘Transitions to adulthood’ for disabled young people. (Read here) Link to the Kids Report here
My experience as a parent to a young person with learning disabilities has led me to be involved in a number of projects which seek to improve outcomes for people with conditions like my sons. In July 2024, I was asked to share my experiences of Annual Health Checks for a video which will be used to raise awareness of these health checks amongst Black, Brown and Ethnic minoritised communities. The link to the work carried out by the Race Equality Foundation, can be found here
As part of my commitment to raising awareness of learning disabilities, I have delivered assemblies at local secondary schools around disability and encouraged young people to understand the history of the disabled people’s movements in the UK and also how to be good allies.
