Stacy Ring OT & Coach

15/06/2026

🎓 GCSEs are officially finished!

Parents: how are you feeling today?

❤️ Relieved
🎉 Celebratory
😴 Exhausted
🥹 Emotional
☀️ Ready for summer

15/06/2026

If you're managing work, family life, appointments, communicating with schools and services, and the ever growing/changing needs of a neurodivergent child or young person, it's easy to feel like there simply aren't enough hours in the day.

A few strategies that have helped me over the past 16 years:

✅ Focus on the "must-dos." Not everything needs to be completed today. Identify your top 3 priorities and let the rest wait if needed.

✅ Use visual planning tools. Shared family calendars, notes app, and visual routines can reduce decision fatigue for everyone.

✅ Build in transition time. Neurodivergent children and young people often need extra time to shift between activities. Planning for this can reduce stress and prevent your schedule from constantly running behind.

✅ Batch similar tasks together. Answer emails, make phone calls, or complete household admin during dedicated blocks of time rather than throughout the day.

✅ Prepare the night before. School bags, clothes, lunches, and work essentials ready to go can make mornings much smoother.

✅ Accept "good enough." Perfection is not the goal. Consistency and wellbeing matter more than having everything done perfectly.

💙 Most importantly, remember that managing a busy household with a neurodivergent child or young person requires flexibility. What works for one family may not work for another and that's okay.

What's one time saving strategy that's made a difference for you or your family?

04/06/2026

Local Service for parents and carers

🫶 Come along to the upcoming Lego based therapy workshop for parents and carers of children and young people with additional needs.

📍 Wednesday 24 June, Ashwood Centre Kirkby-In-Ashfield NG17 7AB, 10am to 1pm.

Led by Nottinghamshire Educational Psychology Service, the workshop covers:
🤔 What Lego based therapy is
🗨️ How it supports communication and social skills
🏡 Ideas to try at home
👨‍👦 Hands-on Lego activities
❓ Opportunities for questions and discussions

It's free to attend , with resources provided and you can book on using the email address in the first comment ⤵️

02/06/2026

As an Occupational Therapist and parent carer, I've learned that many of the strategies we put in place when our children are young don't necessarily become less important as they grow older.

In fact, some become even more important.

My neurodivergent teenager still benefits from many of the same foundations we've used for years to create safety and predictability:

• A paper calendar alongside digital reminders
• Visual food menus to reduce decision fatigue and uncertainty
• Plenty of transition time in the morning rather than expecting an immediate shift from sleep to "ready for the day"
• Consistent routines that provide structure, even when life feels busy or unpredictable

The strategies may look more age appropriate now, but the need for predictability hasn't disappeared.

As parent carers, we can sometimes feel pressure to move on from supports that have "always been there."

But if a strategy continues to support participation, reduce anxiety, and make daily life more manageable, why remove it?

This is something I often discuss with working parent carers. We spend so much time adapting to new challenges that we can overlook the value of maintaining what already works.

Occupational Therapy isn't always about introducing new strategies.

Sometimes it's about recognising which supports remain relevant and giving ourselves permission to keep using them.

For many neurodivergent young people, predictability creates safety.

And safety creates the foundation for independence.

What strategies have remained helpful for your child or young person over the years, even as they've grown older?

14/05/2026

Today I submitted my response to the SEND White Paper consultation.

As an OT, SEND parent carer, and parenting coach, I could not stay silent.

For too many families including mine, the SEND system has become a battle instead of a support. Parents are exhausted, children are overlooked, and support often depends on how hard a family can fight and who shouts the loudest!

We were promised that moving from Statements (showing my age!) to EHCPs would create a more joined up, child centred system. Organisations coming together to support children and young people holistically.

But for many families, it has meant more paperwork, more delays, less accountability, and children still waiting far too long for the help they need.

SEND children deserve better than a system in crisis.

Real reform MUST listen to lived experience, protect and ring fence provision, and put children and families before budgets and bureaucracy.

I will keep speaking up because our children cannot afford silence.

07/05/2026

As GCSE season begins, I want to take a moment to recognise just how much some young people have already overcome simply to get here. 💙

For some students, attending school every day has been a challenge. Some have faced illness, anxiety, burnout, personal battles, loss, or circumstances that others may never see. Some are sitting every exam, some are completing alternative courses, and some are managing what they can, one step at a time.

Whatever their pathway looks like, making it to this point is an achievement in itself.

As both an Occupational Therapist and a parent to a neurodivergent teen, I know these years can hold far more than revision timetables and exam papers. Behind many GCSE students are parents and carers carrying years of appointments, exclusions, managed moves, picking battles whilst having to drop others, advocacy, exhausted mornings, emotional recovery after school, sleepless nights, and constant worry alongside fierce love and determination.

So this is your reminder too! Your child’s worth is not measured by their grades, or attendance, or how many subjects they complete. It's their resilience, persistence, and courage.

To every young person doing what they can with the resources and energy they have right now, I'm proud of you!

Wishing families gentleness, compassion, and moments of calm in the weeks ahead.

02/05/2026

A few months ago I delivered a webinar on CPDme based on changes senior members of staff can make in the workplace.

I'll be honest sharing this now has taken longer than expected. Confidence strugglesasre real, even when you know the value of what you're offering.

But the feedback from this session mattered and it's something I am proud of.

This work is about creating workplaces where parent carers are understood, supported and able to thrive and not just manage.

As an Occupational Therapist and parent coach, I support people to advocate for themselves. I see how the right adjustments, awareness, and leadership approach can make a real difference not just for individuals, but for whole teams.

Thank you for everyone who attended, engaged and shared their reflections. Your feefback helps shape future sessions, and keeps these conversations going.

If you are an organisation or business looking to better support your staff with their caring role, I'd love to connect.

14/04/2026

Some days, I sit with the weight of what I know, what I see, and what I feel and it’s a lot.

As an OT, a SEND parent coach, and a parent carer, I don’t just understand the systems you're are navigating, I live them too. I see the absolute exhaustion, because I’ve felt it myself. I hear the stories that don’t always make it into reports or meetings, and I know how heavy they can be.

And the truth is, it’s really personal.

Because when you wear both hats, professional and parent, you don’t get to switch off your empathy at the end of the day. You’re holding space for others while also holding it together at home. You carry the wins, the worries, the frustrations, both your own and those of the service users, patients or families you support.

Sometimes I feel frustrated, because those that need services deserve better.
Sometimes I feel tired, because the system can be relentless, both professionally, and personally.
Sometimes I feel deeply hopeful, because I see the resilience, the love, and the progress that does happen day in and day out.

But most of all, I feel driven.

Driven to keep advocating.
Driven to keep listening.
Driven to keep showing up in a way that says: “You’re not alone in this.”

If you’ve ever wondered why I care so much, it’s because this isn’t just my work. It’s my lived experience, every single day.

If this resonates with you, I’d love to hear your experience of working whilst being a parent carer, drop a comment or send me a message.

And if you’re a parent who needs support, advice or just a listening ear please don’t hesitate to reach out.

12/04/2026

Currently watching The Best of Men and honestly… it’s such a powerful reminder of why what we do matters 💛 Definately recommend!!!

As an OT, I couldn’t help but notice how central occupation is to recovery not just physical rehab, but identity, dignity, and purpose.

It’s never just about “getting better.”

It’s about:
• having something meaningful to get up for
• rebuilding confidence through doing
• reconnecting with who you are (and who you’re becoming)
• finding possibility again, even in the hardest circumstances

What really stands out is how small, meaningful activities can completely shift someone’s outlook. That’s the heart of occupational therapy, isn’t it?

Not just function… but living.

Also a gentle reminder (for myself included):
Occupation doesn’t have to be big or productive to be valuable. It just has to matter to the person.

Would love to hear have you watched it? What stood out for you?

10/04/2026

What views shape my perspective as a coach?

I’m Stacy, an Occupational Therapist, and parent carer to a neurodivergent teen, but more than that I’m someone who sees people in context of their roles, occupations and their environment, not in isolation.

My perspective is shaped by a few core beliefs:

✨ That environment matters just as much as the individual
Parent carers don’t exist in a vacuum. They are navigating systems, services, expectations, and often invisible pressures.

✨ That function over perfection always wins
In real life, especially for families in healthcare and social care roles, it’s not about doing things “right” it’s about doing what works.

✨ That roles can both support and strain us
Being a parent, a professional, and a carer, these roles are meaningful, but they can also be overwhelming when the balance tips.

✨ That small, sustainable change is powerful
Quick fixes don’t last. What matters is building routines, habits, and supports that actually fit your life.

✨ That being seen and understood changes everything.

So many parent carers feel overlooked. My work is about creating space where their experiences are acknowledged, not minimised.

As I build my coaching service for parent carers in health and social care, these are the views I come back to again and again.

Because support should feel realistic, respectful, and rooted in real life not theory alone.

If you’re a parent carer working in health or social care and this speaks to you, follow along, I’ll be sharing realistic, practical support you can actually use.”