I taught in mainstream and special schools for over twenty years. I have four children and eight grandchildren. One of my sons has special needs which has led me to realise the need for a multisensory inclusive approach when developing activities and resources. I took early retirement from teaching to provide extra support for my son, as adult services were unable to provide him with as many hours of support as he had when he was at school.
Since retiring I was aware of the need for more activities for adults with disabilities during the day.
As a volunteer with Milestones Trust (who support my son three days a week) I set up an accessible cycling project - Warmley Wheelers. I also set up a project- Music Train which provides live music in community settings for my son and others to enjoy. There have been over 500 events in twelve different venues in the last ten years with between 30 and 100 people attending.
Although these events are very important to me, I have never given up hope of having a book published.
I originally developed the story as a multisensory experience which I shared in schools and libraries and the Sense group in Bristol. Visiting the Sense group and seeing a little boy who was deaf sign the story, inspired me to create the book with QR codes to link to Sign Supported English (SSE) and British Sign Language(BSL)
Sarah Turpin Senior MSI Practitioner at Sense (South-West)
"The Surprise Jelly Party provides a multi-faceted approach to language enabling the children to participate and begin to develop language and communication skills. This included visual, auditory and tactile information which meant the children regardless of development were able to join in and feel part of the story."
Lorraine Petersen OBE - Educational Consultant and former CEO of nasen.
"The story is excellent. and the resources are suitable for special and mainstream children. I love the music and the song - got me clapping and stamping my feet.”
Allan Johnston -Former Bafta winner for producing Something Special at the BBC.
“ I am impressed by the level of work and care that has gone into producing the story. Liz is obviously someone who totally understands her target audience and knows how to connect with and support them.”
