A Different Story: The Podcast: Recent Episodes
Nazli El Leithy
A Different Story: The Podcast encourages multidimensional conversations around special educational needs and disability in Egypt and beyond. Every other week, working professionals, family, and community members in the MENA region are interviewed, with the hope that through greater education and awareness, we as a community can deconstruct the stigma and presupposed judgements we have formed towards special needs and disability.
In this episode, BCBA Menna Mahrous discusses the relationship between sleep problems and autism, sheds light on interventions that can help families, and the importance of environmental modifications.
Nazli is joined by Menna Mahrous, a certified BCBA practitioner, to discuss the principles of applied behavioural analysis and the misconceptions associated with the approach. Menna started her career 13 years ago working with children with Learning Disabilities and with a wide range of developmental delays and Autism. She is skilled at using an ABA approach with an emphasis on Verbal Behaviour. She has worked with children in schools and daycares to help integrate ABA in the child’s natural environment and has worked intensively with parents on training and the development of behavioural protocols in the home. Programs also focus on appropriate skills for each child’s specific needs and functional skills to improve overall quality of life.
Nazli is joined by Maha Helali, founder and managing director of the Learning Resource Centre, to define epilepsy, the forms of seizures that exist, advice for caregivers, and the comorbidity of epilepsy with special needs. Maha is also a board member on the National Council for Persons with Disability, the Vice Coordinator for the Committee for Women with Disabilities, and Secretary of the Board for the Arab Network for Autism.
In today's episode, Nazli is joined by Ahmed El Torky, a certified nutrition specialist, to discuss the lessons he has learnt and the challenges he has faced growing up fully blind, the misconceptions that society has formed towards those with visual impairments, and the service he provides as a nutritionist via his Instagram page.
Nazli is joined by Malak, a special education therapist, to discuss the range of learning difficulties that exist, how mainstream teachers can be best prepared to support these children, the importance of identification, and the basic adjustments that need to be made in the school system.
This episode welcomes Nour Hweidak, founder of Instagram page letstalkaboutit.eg; a platform that spreads awareness of mental health disorders by the sharing of stories and experiences. Nour and Nazli discuss the link between mental health issues and special needs and disability, what the research has uncovered, and the conflicts that may arise regarding service provision and within school environments.
In today's episode, Nazli defines the kinds of different needs that exist and how we can best support children with special needs, as non-specialists.
In today’s episode, Nazli is joined by Caryn Price, a South African special educational needs teacher and consultant based in the UK. Caryn discusses the difference between integration and inclusion, the legislation and measures currently in place in the UK, and how the global community benefits from including individuals with special educational needs and disability (SEND) into mainstream school settings.
In today’s episode, we will be hearing from Nihal Mokbel, a lovely mother who lives in the States with her wonderful 19-year old son with autism, Youssef, and her older daughter Lina. Nihal will discuss her journey from Cairo to North Carolina in order to provide a more enriching and fulfilling life for her son, what she would like to see improved in the global special needs field, and the impact Youssef has had on her family.
In this episode, we will be speaking to Khadija El Leithy, a lawyer and also certified health and fitness coach. Khadija will be discussing the link between nutrition and child development (especially in children with special needs), nutritional advice for children with varying needs, movement mechanics that could be beneficial for these children, and how performance and well-being can be enhanced by what we consume everyday. As a disclaimer, please note that Khadija’s nutrition diploma applies to nutrition in general. She is not a specialist in nutrition for children with special needs but her advice is based on research and evidence-based programs.
In this episode, Nazli speaks to Nourhan Zaki - a sister of a wonderful brother with special needs called Hussein. Nourhan discusses her responsibilities as a sibling of a child with disability, the lessons she’s learnt, and her hopes of fully including children like her brother into Egyptian society to promote greater acceptance.
In this episode, Nazli speaks to child psychologist Miryam Bassal on the impact of Covid-19 on children's anxiety levels both during quarantine and post-quarantine. Miryam also shares the main characteristics of anxiety, parenting tips on how to best help children navigate anxiety-provoking situations, and how to encourage children to cope with new norms of schooling and socialising.