Re-framing emotions and anxiety in children.

01/05/2026

Our next session in Cardiff is a drop in with a focus on supporting your child through their exam period. Pop along to see us!

Carys & Sam

15/04/2026

Highly recommended for support

🌟 Amazing response – more tickets released! 🌟

We’ve had an incredible response to our Understanding Autism Workshop this Autism Acceptance Month – thank you to everyone who has already booked! 💛

Due to demand, we’ve now released a limited number of additional tickets.

If you’ve been thinking about joining, now is the time to book 👇

This session is for everyone – whether you are:
👨‍👩‍👧 A parent carer
👩‍🏫 A professional
👵 A grandparent or family member
🌍 Or simply part of the community wanting to better understand autism

Together, we can build more inclusive, informed and supportive communities.

🗓 Monday 20th April
⏰ 5:00pm – 8:30pm
📍 Online
🎟 Free (donations welcome)

👉 Book your place here:
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/1300981112529

Don’t miss out – spaces are limited and filling fast!

15/04/2026

New Event! Tues 21st April. Update on NeuroClub from Torfaen Talks CIC following the 3 month pilot session at Pontypool

Hi everyone,

We are excited to share an upcoming opportunity from Neuro Club that we believe will be of great value to our network.

We’ve teamed up with Catrina Lowri from Neuroteachers for an in-person session dedicated to understanding, celebrating, and supporting neurodivergent children. In a world that isn't always built for them, this session focuses on practical strategies and reframed perspectives to help young people truly thrive.

🧠 Why Attend?

This session is designed for parents & carers. We will be diving into:

Practical Support: Real-world strategies for home and community.
Reframing Perspectives: Shifting the narrative toward celebration and inclusion.
Insights: Expert guidance on navigating neurodiversity.

Event Details

Event: Neuro Club: Neurodivergent Awareness Session
Guest Speaker: Catrina Lowri (Neuroteachers)
Date: Tuesday, 21st April
Time: 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Location: Pontypool Adult Education Centre
Cost: £2 per person

🔗 Registration

Tickets are available now via Eventbrite. Please feel free to share this link with your own circles: https://www.torfaentalkscic.org.uk/events/neuroclubteach

Note on Accessibility: If you cannot make this morning session, please keep an eye out for our upcoming evening and online sessions.

Let’s work together to make Gwent a place where every brain is valued. We hope to see you there!

Torfaen Talks CIC is proud to invite you to our next Neuro Club session. We have teamed up with the renowned experts at Neuroteachers for a morning dedicated to understanding, celebrating, and supporting our neurodivergent children.

08/04/2026

Just a reminder that we are unable to run our usual meeting for April. We will be back, Wednesday 13th May, 6.30pm the Three Blackbirds Inn Llantarnam Cwmbran

07/04/2026

Our Cwmbran April meeting was due to be an informal 'drop in' session for a chat, but unfortunately we have had to cancel this month's meeting. Apologies to those who were intending to come along. We will back for our May meeting on Wednesday 13th May.

Sue & Rachel, REACH Torfaen

06/04/2026

RESOURCE FOR PROFESSIONALS attached is a poster advertising the Psychology Advice Line that is offered by the Child & Family Psychology and Therapies Service to professionals working with children.

Please take a look, and if they can be of any help please give them a call on any Tuesday morning, 9am - 11.30am.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=cbyTeaOefZ0&feature=shared

27/03/2026

🐰 Kids Eat Free (or for £1) Easter Holidays 2026 🐰
Updates & additions here 👉 https://moneysavingcentral.co.uk/kids-eat-free

27/03/2026

Sharing this post as it struck a chord after REACH co-hosted the recent NeuroClub pilot scheme with Torfaen Talks CIC. This poster and description encapsulates exactly the reflections of all the parent carers who attended. It is so important not to feel alone - for your own mental health. And be sure to fill in the post event questionnaires forwarded to to by Torfaen Talks CIC to make sure that YOUR VOICE shapes the GWENT wide neurodiverse provision of the future. Be part of the Regional Partnership Board consultation. Change always starts with small actions - let your voice be that catalyst.

If you want more info on the questionnaires, dm Torfaen Talks CIC

👉 No one talks about what this does to the parent…

Heavy Armour

This journey wears parents down. Not all at once, just… slowly.

Forms, emails, waiting, chasing. Fighting for children while losing parts of ourselves along the way.

Months pass. Sometimes years. And still — families are waiting, still chasing, still stuck.

The system doesn’t really see the parent. They become a role — the advocate, the organiser, the one holding everything together. And somewhere in all of that, who they were before starts to fade.

Careers shift or disappear. Identities change. Life narrows into managing needs, appointments, paperwork, and survival.

And there is no pause button.

Reports are read. Forms are completed. Systems are learned. Everything that’s asked is done — and still, help isn’t guaranteed.

Parents carry their child’s needs, their own struggles, and a constant underlying exhaustion. The parts people don’t see. The parts the system doesn’t measure.

And all the while… the system saves money.

But at what cost?

Because behind every delay, there’s a child waiting. And a parent doing everything they can not to fall apart.

Still, they keep going. Even when they’re exhausted. Even when they feel invisible.

Because they have to believe there will be a day when the weight lifts. When children are seen for who they are — not just what they need.

Until then, parents keep showing up. They keep fighting.

💬 If this feels familiar, you’re not alone.

24/03/2026

Well done to Torfaen Talks CIC for hosting the 3 pilot sessions of Neuroclub over the last 3 months. It was such a privilege to hear people's stories, challenges and ideas for shaping future provision of neurodiversity support in Gwent. Wonderful too, to hear the insight from Ceri of the Regional Partnership Board, who have funded this pilot: it really gave hope to parents that their views were being taken on board. Torfean Talks will be posting further resources and a Population Questionnaire from the funding body to boost collation of parent carer views. We will re post that on REACH once it's available and encourage you to HAVE YOUR SAY...Change can only happen if we persist in making our voices heard.
Thank you to Patrick and Torfaen Talks for inviting us to be part of this pilot scheme.

Sue and Rachel
REACH Torfaen

23/03/2026

Register for Dr Cowtan's online Child Anxiety course tomorrow. Recommended

Dr Charlie Cowtan, Child and Family Clinical Psychologist - The next series of Talks in Torfaen (for parents of SECONDARY-AGED children) starts from Tuesday 24th February

You can register to attend any of these talks here: https://forms.office.com/e/3D3yaYS3vD