Become our Facebook fan and tell your friends all about JustDifferent! Just click on the Facebook link above and then click on ‘like’. Then click on ’suggest to friends’ to tell everyone about us!

Follow the work of JustDifferent and help us to tell people about what we do. See you on there!

‘ I write this message having recently met an amazing and incredible young man, Toby.

What this inspiring individual teaches us is that impairment is simply a frame of mind. I accept that disability changes lives, that some things are more difficult to achieve- but the key is in the word difficult not impossible!!

Toby is a shining example of how will power and endeavor help us to succeed. He continues to work tirelessly to raise the awareness of disability, difference and diversity as empowering to all of us.

With the right support it is possible to achieve almost anything you set your sights towards. Just because our packaging is different does not make us any less valuable and a vital cog in that wheel of everyday life.

I truly am so impressed by the way Toby’s plans continue to change and develop- the sky is absolutely the limit and let’s not rule out the stars!!

For all of us - abled and disabled people, the rules are the same, if you work hard and put in lots of effort. you get so much more in return. Satisfaction, peace, happiness, motivation, pride and a sense of fulfillment.
My motto has always been ; ‘It’s not what happens to you, but what you do about it!’

Nobody promised us that life would be easy, but as Toby shows us, the struggle is so worth it.
 Simon Weston OBE ‘

Hope House Suffolk was established as a  charity in 2000 in order to facilitate the building of a fully furnished and equipped purpose built bungalow for four profoundly disabled young people.  The project received tremendous support from the  community and Hope House was officially opened in April 2002.  It is now a ‘home from home’ for the lifetime of its four residents who receive sensitive and professional care twenty four hours a day.  For some time now, the Trustees of Hope House Suffolk have considered ways in which education about disability could be introduced into our schools.  Hope House Suffolk is delighted to be working jointly with JustDifferent to achieve this in schools across Suffolk.

If you are a school in Suffolk and would like to receive a Workshop, please contact vicki@justdifferent.org for more information.

If you would like to donate to JustDifferent, please find our JustGiving page at www.justgiving.com/justdifferent.

We would like to thank all our supporters who have raised funds through the JustGiving site in the past and to all those who are about to participate in fundraising activities for us. Keep up the good work!

JustDifferent attended the Hampshire Head Teachers Conference on March 10th at the City Cruise Terminal, Southampton. We met some fantastic Head teachers who had received JustDifferent workshops and some who had never hear of JustDifferent. We hope to work with all the schools in Hampshire and if you are interesting in booking a workshop, please do contact us.

Toby (CEO and founder of JustDifferent) attended the conference and had the privilege of meeting Simon Weston OBE  who was the guest speaker for the day. Simons speech echoed the message JustDifferent deliver in their workshops.  Simon encouraged people not to judge others for what they look like or question what they may be able to achieve.

JustDifferent workshops help children understand that people with a difference or a disability can achieve the same things as them just in a different way. They may have to use their feet rather than their hands, or tackle the problem from within a wheelchair rather than on foot, but they can still achieve the sames things.

Toby and everyone at JustDifferent want to thank Simon for his kind words and encouragement with the charitable work that JustDifferent deliver in schools…thanks Simon.

This month we have undergone important changes at JustDifferent.  We are pleased to announce that JustDifferent will now be delivering our charitable workshops free of charge.

As a charity it is our aim to reach all schools in England.  We do not wish to exclude any school from receiving a workshop due to the fee. 

We are asking for a suggested donation for a day of 3 workshops.  It costs JustDifferent £420.00 per day to deliver our workshops.  

 As there is no fee, we also encourage schools to support JustDifferent with an activity from our fundraising pack, which is available when your booking is confirmed, or can be download from this website. Each activity in the pack is designed around disability and difference and reinforces the messages delivered in our workshops. You may decide however to use one of your own tried and tested fundraising activities.  

Requests for workshops are coming in thick and fast, so please make your booking as soon as possible to avoid joining a waiting list.

CENMAC invite disabled students from across the London Borough of Greenwich, their teachers, parents and carers as well as SENCO’s and Speech & Language therapists.  The exhibition includes representatives from suppliers of a variety of assistive technologies.  JustDifferent took a stand and we were delighted to talk to lots of students who were interested in our job opportunities; as well as a number of teachers and SENCO’s who felt that our workshops would greatly benefit their schools.

The highlight of the day was Toby’s inspirational talk entitled ‘My achievements with AAC’.  Despite being given a slot towards the end of the day the meeting room was packed to capacity. The presentation was extremely well received, there were so many questions at the end that Toby’s session over ran and he had to continue answering them in the corridor outside to make way for the next presenter!

All in all this was a very worthwhile event, we met some interesting people and CENMAC and Charlton School should be applauded for their efforts.

Key Stage 3 Workshop
• A one hour session
• Lots of audience participation and active discussion.
• Identifying different types of disability and their characteristics
• Our disabled presenter will share with the group his or her personal experiences, with particular reference to developing independence and the challenges of secondary education.

Key Stage 4 Workshop
• A two hour session
• Group discussion and encouraging the group to ask those ‘uncomfortable’ questions.
• The disability movement and its influence in the UK
• Disability ‘etiquette’
• Our disabled presenter will share with the group his or her personal experiences, with particular reference to choosing a career and seeking employment.

Both of the above satisfy the requirements of the PSHE and Citizenship parts of the National Curriculum. Additionally we have been asked on several occasions to support mentoring programmes in schools and we are now able to offer a modular mentoring programme aimed at students in Key Stage 4.

“Thank you so much for arranging our visit with Ross today, he was absolutely fantastic. The girls loved meeting him and I think that they all feel more informed and confident now in their approach to disability. I am sure that we will be asking him to come again in the summer term to see the groups he didn’t see today”.

read article