Bringing up a child with dual or multiple exceptionality (DME) can be both exhilarating and exhausting in equal measure. Your role as a parent or carer is absolutely critical to the wellbeing and happiness of your whole family. Yet many parents and carers say that they struggle to be the best version of themselves they can be and that bringing up a child with DME can be challenging at best and sometimes a battleground between them, their child and even other family members. This webinar explores some of those issues which help and those that can hinder positive experiences with and for your child with DME, and offers some practical suggestions for how all family members can thrive and meet the challenges of DME confidently.
Once you have registered for the festival, you will receive a link to a survey where you can detail issues you are interested in the session leader focusing on.
This session will be running at the same time as that of Making a Great Start at Secondary School – both sessions will be available as videos to festival goers for a month after the festival.
Session Presenter

Denise Yates
Denise Yates has worked in education and training for almost forty years to enable all individuals to maximise their potential. Over the years, this has included working with ex-offenders and young people at risk of offending, children with moderate learning difficulties, adults with numeracy and literacy problems and with children who have high learning potential and dual or multiple exceptionality.
For ten years, Denise was Chief Executive of the national charity, Potential Plus UK. In 2017, she left to pursue her passion which could be summarised as ‘hidden potential’; children and young people with dual or multiple exceptionalities, those with mental health problems and those who have been failed by the system, for whatever reason.
A Cambridge economist, Denise is currently, amongst other things: a Trustee of The Potential Trust; a non-executive Director of Nisai Education Trust; and a non-executive Director of Potential in Me. She is a Life Fellow of the RSA, a consultant on issues related to inclusion and also a trained Adviser with Citizens Advice and spends time practically supporting individuals and families in her local community.
In 2020, with Adam Boddison, she wrote ‘The School Handbook for Dual and Multiple Exceptionality’ and in 2022 published her second book, “Parenting Dual Exceptional Children” https://www.hachette.co.uk/titles/denise-yates/parenting-dual-exceptional-children/9781787758100/.
In 2020 she was awarded an MBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours for services to children and young people. @DeniseYates_