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Angel making a difference to the lives of Rockingham youth through disability support group

Tyra PetersSound Telegraph
(Pictured) Angel Jose in her Kids helping Kids shirt.
Camera Icon(Pictured) Angel Jose in her Kids helping Kids shirt. Credit: Supplied

Living with a disability has its challenges, but that has not stopped Angel from supporting her fellow Rockingham youth through the creation of her Kids Helping Kids support group.

Angel was born with a complex neurodevelopmental profile, which significantly impacts her overall physical development, as well as speech and language development.

At just 12 years of age, Angel has displayed more resilience and confidence than most during her life and is now inspiring other kids to do the same.

With the help of her speech therapist at Rocky Bay, Angel was able to deliver an inspiring speech to her school peers at the end of last year and created the Kids Helping Kids support group as a result of wanting to help other children.

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Kids Helping Kids aims to support children living with disabilities through fun and supportive activities and has now grown to 25 members.

Led by Angel, who came up with initiative on her own, the group meets once a month, with Angel’s mum in charge of emailing the parents the schedule.

“Some people give up ... some people don’t push their limits or believe in themselves, and they should,” Angel said.

Some people get bullied, and they shouldn’t, because we are all the same inside, and people need to see that.

Angel’s next idea is to get a fire truck out to one of their meet-ups, so the children can have an enriching experience learning about fire safety, something Rocky Bay is helping her to achieve.

“Since being with Rocky Bay, I have improved my nerves talking in front of people,” Angel said. “I never give up, I didn’t just stop at learning speech, I went on to start helping other kids.”

Angel has been attending the disability provider’s Rockingham hub since 2017 for speech therapy, occupational therapy and physiotherapy and during this time created a special bond with her speech therapist, Ramishka Thilakaratne.

(Left to Right) Angel Jose and Speech Therapist Ramishka Thilakaratne.
Camera Icon(Left to Right) Angel Jose and Speech Therapist Ramishka Thilakaratne. Credit: Supplied

Ms Thilakaratne said of all the qualities Angel holds, it was her confidence and resilience that inspired her the most.

“Angel is always working hard and trying her best to not only improve herself but to also make the world a better place for other children,” she said.

Ms Thilakaratne said she had learnt so much from Angel.

“Angel has achieved much more than one could possibly imagine,” she said. “I hope she continues to shine that unstoppable light she has in her.”

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