My working life: Karen Leigh

Karen Leigh, ceo of Sensational Kids, reveals a typical working day.

7am

The first hour is the most challenging. I have two sons, aged 12 and 14, the youngest has dyslexia, the oldest has hearing loss and dyspraxia. The 12-year-old hates school so it’s a bit of a struggle to get him out. Being a CEO sounds glamorous but in reality I’m a working mum who has children with special educational needs.

9am

A 10-minute drive gets me to work in Kildare town where I spend the first part of the morning forward planning. The idea for Sensational Kids arose during a chat with family and friends about the lack of affordable services for children with developmental delays or special educational needs.

In the order of 2,000 children are on public waiting lists for speech and language assessments and occupational therapy respectively. I set up Sensational Kids as an affordable option — families can avoid long waits and its cheaper than going private. We charge €68 per session, about half the cost of a private session.

11am

I check in with our team of therapists — we offer speech and language therapy and occupational therapy.

We also have an educational psychologist and a teacher who helps kids that struggle with reading. Most of the kids we see have autism or dyspraxia (difficulty with planning and carrying out sensory/motor tasks).

1pm

I have a quick bite to eat in the office. It’s a lovely working environment with all the kids around.

2pm

We run Ireland’s only child development and learning store at our premises, so I check the online orders every day to make sure things are running smoothly. We sell a mix of skill building toys and therapy products that don’t cost the earth. The online store and retail shop subsidise our service.

3pm

I have planning to do around our social skills group — a course for kids to help them develop coping strategies — and our Wipe Out Worries group. I also plan ahead for our professional development training workshops for those working with children with special needs and for upcoming fundraising events. And I’ve a special needs conference to organise for next year.

5.30pm

Home to the boys, dinner and homework. I try not to bring work home and I do mindfulness classes once a week.

Karen Leigh is CEO of Sensational Kids. For more info see sensationalkids.ie