about us

This is the F**king Normal Podcast.

The cheers, tears and Friday night beers of parenting disabled children. 

Join our hosts Rina Teslica and Lauren Fenton, both mothers to daughters with special needs as they and their guests share unique parenting stories and chat about the things they’ve learnt and are still learning.

Prepare to sometimes laugh, sometimes cry but hopefully leave with a shot of optimism in your arm! Expect bad language and some brutal honesty…

Because really what the f**k is normal anyway?! 

We are mothers to children with disabilities and special educational needs. We met on an amazing Whatsapp group which grew organically through chance encounters and quickly became a lifeline. Although our children all have different conditions, we felt we’d finally found a group of parents who not only understood us and our lives but became a place where we could ask for help. We could rant about life, share our biggest joys, crappiest lows, and garner handy, practical tips from others in similar boats.

We’ve built an amazing community. But we know that there are so many parents out there who could benefit from the same allyship and not feel alone.

The f**king normal podcast is a parent’s perspective. We are not talking on behalf of disabled children or adults. We can’t and we would never presume to. We want to learn to parent and advocate better and this show is about our experience as parents.  

Our goal is to extend the conversation and support that we’ve felt from each other to a wider audience. We don’t have the answers but want to create a safe space to share stories as we venture through parenting disabled children together.

Those creatively involved in the project

Co-Presenters & co-editing: Lauren Fenton & Rina Teslica

Production team: Genevieve Porritt & Victoria Wason

Artwork: Sharon King-Chai www.sharonkingchai.com

Music: Æ Mak https://www.instagram.com/aemak_/

https://open.spotify.com/artist/2VQ0jNisT4VhPs41VGvvTX?si=3CXmsNzrTQmrYsl46eGOSQ

Wider creative team: Mary Forrest, Clare Wright, Gemma Sherlock, Helen Gamble-Shields, Kathleen Javalla, Caroline MacPake, Evangelia Vasiliadou.