Ever been to a place where you want to help, but aren’t too sure how? I felt kind of like that in Blackpool this weekend. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed myself thoroughly, but there were times when I did not know what to do. I was there to be a ‘role model’ for kids, but, unlike Lilleshall, the young people at this event were preteens, so I wasn’t quite sure how to engage with them. I found myself talking more to the parents rather than the kids.

I knew I was doing it. Kate challenged me to ask an open question to all the kids there, which ii attempted to do, but the parents were often answering for them. The problem was, the children were at a very early stage of communicative development, so I suspect it was nigh on impossible for the parents to resist the urge to do the talking. This, combined with the fact that the parents were as inquisitive about me as I was nosey about them meant that the kids had very little chance to join the conversation. Having said this hopefully when the kids see their parents talk to me so deeply, they will see that they too can achieve what I have. They will see that, just because you may use a communication aid doesn’t mean you can’t have fairly in-depth conversations. I think this, to a certain extent, is the whole point of the role-model project.

However, I daresay most kids there hardly needed encouraging. Like most children their age, they had much to say, and given half the chance, say it they would. All it needs is a little patience and these kids can chat for England, or will be able to do so soon, given patience and the right help.

Thus, although I have reservations about how much I helped, it was undeniably a great weekend. The kids were super. If they invite me, I’ll definitely be going again.