Everything Foster Care.
This podcast is dedicated to talking to experts and others about all aspects of death and dying. You know, that thing we don't really want to talk about!
As a hospice carer and former psychiatric nurse as well as writer and former Theatre director, I invite guests to talk about their roles in and what to expect in the last four weeks of life. What happens to the person dying, what help is there, what to do before and after the event.
Many of the families we go in to see have one thing in common and that is that they don't know what to expect. I thought that a Podcast may help and then discovered so much to explore that is of interest to people such as alternative funerals, what do Hospices actually do, what role do religions play?
So join me for the first interview as we begin this Podcast with Clinical Nurse Specialist Becky Rix where we grasp the nettle and discuss what happens to us generally in those last four weeks.
Time to explore "Everything End of Life".
Everything Foster Care.
From Newt To Penguin: Writing For Neurodivergent Kids
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A child doesn’t need every word to make sense; they need a safe space where rhythm, pictures, and patience invite them in. That’s the spirit of our conversation with author-illustrator Carly Ann Osborne, who blends classroom experience with creative storytelling to help neurodivergent children feel recognised. We explore how The Cute Newt draws from autistic traits and Quinn the Penguin captures ADHD energy, and why those pages matter most when a child says, “I do that.”
Carly shares hard-won insights from working in a mainstream school with neurodivergent pupils: listen beyond words, follow the child’s lead, and give communication more than one doorway. Some children speak in stories or metaphors, others in gestures, drawings, or movement. We talk about co-regulation, the calming power of routine, and simple tools like visual supports and movement breaks that foster trust. Along the way, we swap stories about fostering, where needs vary widely and progress often shows up weeks or months after the first try—proof that patience beats pressure.
We also dig into representation and access. From the first autistic Barbie to classroom bookshelves, seeing yourself on the page can dissolve shame and build confidence. Carly’s characters come from real encounters—a school pond full of newts, a traveller’s penguin photos, a child searching for a 3D-printed capybara—keeping the work grounded and relatable. And yes, we get into the realities of self-publishing versus traditional deals, how indie authors reach schools, and why clarity and craft matter more than celebrity. If you care about children’s mental health, inclusive education, and stories that validate different ways of being, you’ll find ideas you can use tonight at story time.
Subscribe for more conversations on fostering, neurodiversity, and children’s books that open doors. Share this episode with someone who needs fresh tools and leave a review to help others find the show.
For those interested in what Palliative care looks like at home there is "The Last Kiss" (Not a Romance)
Available on Amazon now
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Last-Kiss-Romance-Carers-Stories/dp/1919635289/ref=sr_1_1?crid=13D6YWONKR5YH&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9._59mNNFoc-rROuWZnAQfsG0l3iseuQuK_gx-VxO_fe6DLJR8M0Az039lJk_HxFcW2o2HMhIH3r3PuD7Dj-D6KTwIHDMl2Q51FGLK8UFYOBwbRmrLMbpYoqOL6I5ruLukF1vq7umXueIASDS2pO91JktkZriJDJzgLfPv1ft5UtkdQxs9isRDmzAYzc5MKKztINcNGBq-GRWKxgvc_OV5iKKvpw0I5d7ZQMWuvGZODlY.fqQgWV-yBiNB5186RxkkWvQYBoEsDbyq-Hai3rU1cwg&dib_tag=se&keywords=the+last+kiss+not+a+romance&qid=1713902566&s=books&sprefix=The+Last+kiss+n%2Cstripbooks%2C107&sr=1-1
Meet Carly Ann Osborne
SPEAKER_00Okay. So how are you?
SPEAKER_01I'm good, you?
SPEAKER_00Okay, yeah. So Carly, Anne Osborne, author and also working at a particular school for is it neurodivergent children?
SPEAKER_01Um there's a mainstream school, but I work with the neurodivergent children to go there.
SPEAKER_00Oh, that's that's so cool. So is that what got you into that work? May I ask?
SPEAKER_01Um gosh, what got me so sad? Um funny enough, it was um during COVID and we all had to I was staying at home mum at the time. Um we all and actually I quite liked it. So I thought, oh you know, when I got out to work, I thought, oh I'm gonna work at school, and obviously this is the path I've got.
SPEAKER_00That's fantastic, that's
The Cute Newt And Self-Illustration
SPEAKER_00lovely. Um so let's talk about the book. The cute newt. Have you got a copy?
SPEAKER_01I have got a copy. I've also got Queen the Penguin as well.
SPEAKER_00I was gonna say, because the last time we spoke, and I will tell the listeners and viewers that we did a we did an interview, and brilliantly, um I had a technical issue and it didn't come out properly. So we're doing doing the whole thing again. Um but uh let's just explain the cute newt. That was your first one. Here it is, and with illustrations.
SPEAKER_01Yes, all done by me.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. They're just brilliant. So I love that. I wish I could draw like that. Hey. Uh and then at that time you set yourself a task to get another children's book out by Christmas.
SPEAKER_01Yep.
SPEAKER_00And and you've done that.
SPEAKER_01I did it.
SPEAKER_00Hey Ta-da! Quinn the Penguin.
SPEAKER_02Quinn the penguin.
SPEAKER_00Okay, show us some of those pictures. Fabulous. Okay, and uh they're all available on Amazon right now?
Quinn The Penguin Launch
SPEAKER_01Yes, or on Amazon, or for me directly on Fontman tour in different sites that I've always gone to see.
SPEAKER_00Okay, well we'll try and get a um uh a link onto the website for you. Uh because you know, I'm one of those people having written children's books, I think it's so important that kids have a place to go to that's not in this world, you know? And and that is that's reading these little books. And also that
Where To Buy And Why Picture Books Matter
SPEAKER_00quality time. And I'm sure you'll get that of sitting with the little one and just reading together and pointing at the pictures and then wriggling and you say, sit still, and uh, you know I'm reading.
SPEAKER_01I I'm very much um a believer of you you read through them even like even the babies, even from baby baby I read to my children, and um I think I did get a few criticisms from people going, Well, they can't understand you, why are you reading through them? Like well, how are they going to learn to understand me?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I mean the words are the words are just uh I mean it was I think there's something mad like it's just sixty-seven percent of us understanding other people. It's tonality, it's familiarity, it's spending time, isn't it? And it's it's all of that that helps their brains to grow uh and to feel safe and stable, etcetera, etcetera. So that's invaluable, I think. So they no don't really need the words all the time, but the rhythm.
SPEAKER_01And as well, you they they start to create, especially with picture books,
Reading To Babies And Building Connection
SPEAKER_01action, like the words are the actions that the characters are doing in the book.
unknownYeah.
SPEAKER_01I do think it's really important to create characters that children can see themselves in. Yeah. That's one of the um big feedback that I get from people is that because obviously both books are written for neurodivergent children.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Um the cute new is based on uh um autism traits and penguin is ADHD traits. Okay. And a lot of the feedback I've got is that the children can actually go, Well yeah, I do that.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, that's lovely.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Um and when they have and it kind of normalizes quite that actually it's okay to kind of feel like that sometimes. It's okay to kind of need help sometimes and need that something a bit different that
Writing For Neurodivergent Children
SPEAKER_01um neuro what we call neurotypical children don't need.
SPEAKER_00Well, I think the big wigs are picking up on this because I'm pretty sure I read that they've got just released the first autistic Barbie doll. Uh and I think it was um a little girl here in Colchester who actually modeled or you know, was the inspiration for that. So bless her, cotton socks. You know, I think it's just a amazing thing that she's got in her life now. You know, I did that.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yeah, exactly. And it's it's really important that um they they feel that they are authentic. Because they feel that just like any other children, they just have a different way of learning and different um and different needs that need to be fulfilled. Like us sitting here with tea and cups of coffee, that fulfills a need for us.
SPEAKER_00So tell me a little bit about your work, because obviously we do fostering, and um there's gonna be kids out there with a
Normalising Different Needs
SPEAKER_00whole uh set of different needs that need fostering. We uh we've had referrals, I mean, you know, they get for something may have like 500 referrals a week for foster kids. And one of them I noticed was a little girl who'd got cerebral palsy, and there was a couple of kids that got ADHD. And they they come with a whole variety of problems. Not all kids, I'm not saying. Uh so if you want to become a foster carer, I don't think that you're gonna have to be thrown in at the deep yeah, thrown in at the deep end there, you know. But uh yeah, so and and it's good to know I've got an interview coming up with Credo Care, who specialise in this kind of area as well. Um, but this is your speciality now. What can you tell us about and what
Representation In Toys And Media
SPEAKER_00tips have you got for helping the little ones with their different needs?
SPEAKER_01I think the biggest tip is to listen. Um and it it's not just listening to their words. Oh we I had a little girl that well. So I had a little girl I worked with a couple of years ago. Um and while she was verbal, he wasn't um she didn't talk coherently. It was in story form, and she'd tell stories. So it took a
Understanding Authentic Needs
SPEAKER_01lot of listening and listening to the story to figure out what it was that she needed.
unknownYeah.
SPEAKER_01And sometimes she'll tell the things that have happened, for example, at home. But it was in the story form in her in an animal.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. And that's her that's her way of communicating so that you can understand. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Um and these children um and lots of children have different ways of communicating,
Fostering And Diverse Referrals
SPEAKER_01it's not always verbal.
SPEAKER_02Right, of course.
SPEAKER_01So it's having that patience and taking the time to learn and to understand them.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Um generally once once you kind of get and you know, it's not a hundred percent accurate all the time. Sometimes they'll throw you for a loop. Um sometimes you think, ah, I I get you, we got it, and then something changes and it all goes up.
SPEAKER_00I would say I've I've found that with some of our foster kids that I only really understand what they were trying to say about three months after they've said it, you know. And and the penny will kind of drop, and that's what you were trying to tell me. Yeah. Yeah. I get it now. You know.
SPEAKER_01Exactly. And it's that it is that patience that you need to allow them the space to be comfortable enough to show you or tell you or communicate in whatever way that they feel like they can communicate.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Um quite a few children in our school who um are non-verbal.
unknownRight.
SPEAKER_01Um, so it's it's quite tricky to bridge that gap and trying to understand what it is that they need, because they can be really, really upset about something and and not
The First Rule: Listen Deeply
SPEAKER_01be able to physically tell us.
SPEAKER_02Right.
SPEAKER_01So we need to be able to understand their body language, you know. How can we get that child how can we understand that child in a different way? And that can be a lot of people.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, that must that must be really tricky. It's I think going back forty odd years when I was in psychiatry, we had one particular guy who was an elected elective mute. He had he'd got perfect language skills up until he was about twenty, and then he'd gone into uh a particular war zone and then he'd come back and he was by the time I met him, it was completely institutionalized, but he wouldn't say anything. He wouldn't not a word. And interestingly, after I'd been at this one particular place for about a year, uh this one guy, Edward Adamson, I think his name was, uh did art
Non-Verbal Signals And Story Speech
SPEAKER_00therapy with him. And he you know, he just sat in a room and just let him paint and do his thing. And he then very slowly started to talk again because he'd had found somebody who could give him that medium through which he could express himself that nobody else had beforehand. So that's an incredible sort of thing that's you keep they're keeping these kids are keeping all that stuff inside with if they're elected. Or or just not finding a way to be able to express that must be really tricky.
SPEAKER_01It is tricky. Taking the time to understand and um well, we've got a fantastic team around us who we're all on the same page, we're all work by the same song sheet. Um and we're all very, very incredibly patient.
SPEAKER_00Uh in everything, I think teamwork is the most amazing thing, especially with kids. So are you going to be writing another book?
SPEAKER_01Uh I have an idea for another book. I've done some concept drawings for it. Okay. Um, I just need to sort of nail down the story. It's gonna be about a cabibara.
SPEAKER_00A what story?
SPEAKER_01A cabibara.
SPEAKER_00A cabibara?
SPEAKER_01Yes.
SPEAKER_00Wow. I you know I haven't I don't think I've actually seen one. Uh I I know the night But yeah, yeah, I think I've seen them in I might have seen one in a zoo. Uh that's about it, really. So what okay, so what it so did you just pull that out of the air, or was that something inspired
Patience, Time, And Breakthroughs
SPEAKER_00you to go I think I'll have an um animal nobody ever knows. So yeah.
SPEAKER_01Well, I I get inside what we've got what animal to pick with what's going on around us. So the newt was picked because we've got um we've got a wildlife area.
unknownYeah.
SPEAKER_01We've got a pond at the back of it, which has newts, and the children love going and they they catch a new and they touch it and pick it up, and it's it's a lovely experience for them in the summertime. And then penguin was because there was a lady that came to one of my events who just went off on a complete tangent about this um Arctic adventure she went on, where she went down with penguins, and how you know she was she was saying how the the adult penguin was chasing the baby penguin around and she thought it was hilarious, and she was showing me photos and videos and things.
SPEAKER_00I remember you telling me about that.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, and I thought it was so funny, so I um that's what that was based on. And then the coviras because I was at another event, um, and it was it's an artisan market. And next to us was a 3D printing store, and they've got all these little lovely figurines of all these little animals. And this this child came up and just randomly went, Have you got a caby barra? And uh he was looking through the box, and then the gentleman on the store, he was looking for the box and I've got one somewhere, I know I've made one, and he's looking for it, and then his friend was helping
Teamwork In Neurodiversity Support
SPEAKER_01him with the store, he was looking for it. And then just because I thought it was hilarious, I started looking for it, and we all started looking for the cavivara.
SPEAKER_00So random, that is so random. Look there.
SPEAKER_01Um it's just inspired a cavibra that um the lost cavivara that keeps running off.
SPEAKER_00I've got to say when
Next Book Tease: The Capybara
SPEAKER_00you talk about running off, uh that's how we kind of met was you were doing a book um stall. Well, it was in Sudbury, wasn't it, in the um big old art centre they'd got there. And uh I was taking our two foster kids at the time uh who were a little ADHD. They weren't actually ADHD, but they were very active, if you know what I mean. And uh one just couldn't sit still, so I said, Well, let's go outside and we'll go and uh just have a little walk around. And lo and behold, there was a book fair going on. Why don't we go and have a look at the book fair? And then she was drawn straight to your to your books in your store. And I I had to uh we I mean we walked around the stores and and that. But then I had to come back and I had to get one because she really liked it. And and then they left as they'd moved on to a new placement. She took it with her, you know, so and got a copy. Now I'm gonna have to order another one if we get. I think we might have more foster children coming this weekend, funnily enough. So I'll have to get on Amazon and do the thing or or on your site. So yeah, that was So do you do I mean
Real-Life Sparks For Animal Characters
SPEAKER_00you we were talking about uh these are self-prom uh self-published books and self-promoted books. And I I did I was published by a particular publishing company, but they were so useless. I took the publishing rights back and republished them myself. And I found I sold more books doing that than I did with all of their help, which was just odd, really, wasn't it? You know?
SPEAKER_01You couldn't sometimes think self-publishing is the way forward.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Um I just felt like because I'd already I I w I already had all the pictures drawn, I'd already done all the hard work with it, I was like, why am I gonna give away some of my uh a large my profits to the publishing company when I've already done most of the work?
SPEAKER_00I said I think the author only gets something like 20% uh from PublishCon. And you can, you know, they say, well, we've got to print it, we've got to promote it. And I was the only thing my company did was they they printed it. Uh they didn't do much in the way of promoting it, you know. So I thought it was crazy. They said they were gonna put it in actually to the for the Blue Peter Awards. And they've and they didn't.
SPEAKER_01Empty promises.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, empty promises, yeah. I'm sure they're not all like that, obviously, because otherwise it wouldn't be an industry.
SPEAKER_02No.
SPEAKER_00But definitely there's room for a lot more kids' books, and uh it's there's the likes of um famous people, David Badil and and various other famous people who get their children's books authored, and they've already got a platform out there, so it's not a really equal playing field.
SPEAKER_01Um that's that's the one thing, and I'm sure you've you've uh you just hit the nail on the head. Like for um an unknown author
A Book Fair Moment With Foster Kids
SPEAKER_01to come in and try and get their book out there and try and get it seen, it's so difficult.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_01You know, when if a if a celebrity brings a book out, they've already got the fan base, they've already got the name out there, they've already recognised it.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. I I think a lot of schools are beginning to recognise this too, and you know, they're looking for new authors, you know, because they've they they know all the famous ones, you know, already.
SPEAKER_01There's a couple of famous authors, uh, I won't name names, who um we actually don't like having in the school because their books are aren't because children learning to read.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, do you think that there might be? I mean, uh I should be not so uncharitable, but could there be a little bit where actually they're not very good some of these books and and nobody's told them, you know, it's uh King of No Clothes.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, smoke smoke up smoke up the uh what um Okay, so uh so the cuffy barra. Have you got uh a name for this book yet?
SPEAKER_01Or is it I think we've going with Sara the Copy Barra.
SPEAKER_00Okay. A nice ever so I I get a feeling of alliteration running through the series of your books here.
SPEAKER_02Yes.
SPEAKER_00Which is lovely, you know. Um so yeah, great. Well, thank you very much for uh doing the interview again. And very best of luck with the new book. Uh I'll keep an eye on it. I know you have a TikTok account.
SPEAKER_01I do, yeah. Yeah, TikTok, Instagram,
Why Self-Publishing Worked Better
SPEAKER_01X thread.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_01I'm even on Lemon 8. The new one.
SPEAKER_00Uh uh what, sorry?
SPEAKER_01Lemon 8, it's called.
SPEAKER_00Lemon 8. Oh. Okay, I'll have to look that up. I'm I'm rubbish at this sort of thing. So I've got a website now. Oh, the website's live, by the way. Nice.
SPEAKER_01I was gonna ask, yeah.
SPEAKER_00It's www.everythingfostercare dot co.uk. I did a load of flyers and called it.com, so nobody's gonna go to that.
SPEAKER_02Uh Twit.
SPEAKER_00But it's uh but you can email me at everythingfostercare at outlook.com. That's the email. That's why I got confused. Easy done. So can we get together maybe in a little while once you've got your next book published and then we can we can talk a little bit more about what the what the fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh are gonna be looking like.
SPEAKER_01Oh well we'll have to see where my inspiration takes me.
SPEAKER_00What animals so you're gonna have a zoo book, a book of zoo. I don't know. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01So I think
The Celebrity Author Advantage
SPEAKER_01just they're they're easy to partoy, aren't they? To make something into into a cartoon. Animals are quite easy to do.
SPEAKER_00Well, it might be for you. I've got I've got no talent at all. Only writing, maybe drawing, I'm rubbish. I'm still on stick people now.
SPEAKER_01Stick people are still Yeah, I try I try and make them so they're relatable and that you know, as you say, when your um when your first child went by and she was her it it caught her eye. She was she was straight blue on that one. The air of the pictures. They're supposed to be eye-catching. Because the children aren't want to read a book that's gonna keep them changed.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I know. Um okay, well, thanks again. And we'll leave it there. Uh Carly Ann Osborne Carly Ann Osborne, children's author. Thank you very much.
SPEAKER_01Thank you. And good luck with everything, all the with everything foster care.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I'm gonna go.
Schools, Quality, And Reading Levels
SPEAKER_01I'll put the website on my social media.
SPEAKER_00Oh, thank you very much. Okay. And get people to get people to comment and share. That's the thing. They share it. Yeah, comment and share. Yeah, yeah, it was oh that would be the easy bit. Okay. All right. Thanks very much, Kevin. See you later.
SPEAKER_01See you later. Bye.
SPEAKER_00Bye.
SPEAKER_01Bye.
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