Nearly nine months after launching an ambitious public awareness program for early childhood education, Princess Kate is expanding its focus to neurodiversity and children with disabilities. On Wednesday, Kate traveled to Kent to take part in a play session for children with special educational needs and their families, organized by the National Portage Association. The association, which is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, is an association of services providing early intervention home visits and playgroups for children with a range of conditions.
The play session at the Orchards Centre in Sittingbourne included seven children with communication issues, autism, or Down syndrome and their parents. In a red jacket from Zara and a pair of skinny jeans, Kate met with each child and parent and in some cases joined them on the floor for playtime.
According to the Daily Mail, she sat nearby as Darcie, a three-year-old with Down syndrome, played with colored paper and cups and shared an anecdote about her youngest child, Prince Louis. “Well done,” the Princess said. “Louis’ got a Darcie in his class.”
In January, the Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood launched Shaping Us, a campaign using events, films, and ambassadors to emphasize the importance of the early years for lifelong brain development. Ever since, Kate has visited schools to put some of her own skills as an educator into use and discuss the state of early childhood education across the nation.
In a statement, the center’s director Christian Guy praised the Portage Association for its role in supporting children with developmental needs across the UK. “Providing strong support for children, parents and carers during these earliest years is essential and can have a life-changing impact—this is never more true than for those families caring for children with special educational needs,” he wrote. “Watching and listening to the conversations today, it was so clear that the experience and care given by the Portage practitioners is invaluable for the families they work with.”
Through the Shaping Us campaign, Kate has also been highlighting the importance of mental health, another one of her main charitable interests. Last month, campaign ambassador Roman Kemp, a radio DJ who took on a role as an advocate after losing a friend to suicide, praised the princess’s passion for the issue, which she displayed on a trip to his family home.
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Erin Vanderhoof
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