Normal Schmormal: My occasionally helpful guide to parenting kids with special needs (Down syndrome, autism, ADHD, neurodivergence)

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Comedy provided a coping mechanism for the Edgware resident to deal with, as he calls it in his typically droll way, “meetings, meetings and incessant meetings”. If you do nothing, you will be auto-enrolled in our premium digital monthly subscription plan and retain complete access for 65 € per month. But at the time of her adoption 10 years ago, he and Gemma had their hands full with three young boys, prompting many to ask why they wanted to put themselves forward. Normal Schmormal is part-memoir, part how-to guide, highlighting the many challenges, as well as the hugely rewarding elements, of parenting children with additional needs. Written with humour, compassion and a lot of love, it's a must-read for parents, carers and teachers of children with SEN, either looking for a bit of support or in need of a very big laugh. Great insights and advice for any parent, from a unique and fascinating family and their brilliantly funny dad.’ Katy Brand MORE INFO

BBC Radio 4 - Ashley Blaker: 6.5 Children, Series 1, Too Many BBC Radio 4 - Ashley Blaker: 6.5 Children, Series 1, Too Many

The star of BBC Radio 4's hit comedy 6.5 Children takes to the road in a new stand-up show, based on the best-selling book of the same name, about the joys of raising children with special needs. People would say why and, to paraphrase Edmund Hillary, ‘because she was there’. We certainly never had an interest before to adopt a child, because we could have our own children.” Unlike other Jewish media, we do not charge for content. That won’t change. Because we are free, we rely on advertising to cover our costs. This vital lifeline, which has dropped in recent years, has fallen further due to coronavirus. Ashley Blaker and Imran Yusuf: 'It's incredible how much we are alike. Thankfully, we never seem to run out of material!' ". 16 October 2019.

NORMAL SCHMORMAL

You could have 10 regular kids and it wouldn’t make a difference. Your experience of school could be never having to speak to the school very often at all, but I’ve never had that. We seem to have endless meetings. You know, review meetings, assessment meetings, start of term, middle of term, end of term meetings, planning meetings, even pre-planning meetings!” That was followed up by his debut stand-up show, Observant Jew, at the 2018 Edinburgh Festival Fringe, while two years ago, he teamed up with Muslim comedian Imran Yusuf for their UK tour, Prophet Sharing. Ashley Blaker said: ‘ Being a parent is tough and raising kids with special needs is even tougher. That’s why I am delighted to share our story with people and hopefully provide some much-needed light relief. Thankfully our kids provide so much comic material this has all taken much less time to write than you might imagine.’

Book — Ashley Blaker

Blaker went to Haberdasher’s Boys’ School in Elstree with Matt Lucas and went on to produce his popular comedy series, Little Britain Comedian Ashley Blaker has written new book Normal Schmormal: My Occasionally Helpful Guide To Parenting Kids With Special Needs. Written with humour, compassion and a lot of love, Normal Schmormalis a must-read for parents, carers and teachers of children with SEN, either looking for a bit of support or in need of a very big laugh.Then everyone’s trying to use the internet and it’s not working because everyone’s trying to do too much, too many people on it, and we haven’t got enough devices and it’s too noisy. You may change or cancel your subscription or trial at any time online. Simply log into Settings & Account and select "Cancel" on the right-hand side. You may also opt to downgrade to Standard Digital, a robust journalistic offering that fulfils many user’s needs. Compare Standard and Premium Digital here. The idea for Blaker’s latest radio show – and a national tour inspired by it that launches next year – came about after he heard “gasps” from audiences each time he mentioned he had half a dozen children. Due to be published on 20th July by Harper Collins, the product is described as "part-memoir and part how-to guide for parenting children with additional needs".