A mother has gone viral after she sent out some hilariously blunt birthday invitations for her twins’ fifth birthday party. In a recent video posted to her TikTok, the parent, Natalie LeClaire, shared a picture of the now-viral invitation that her son received. As she described the note as “hilarious,” she shared a picture of the invite and recited what the beginning of it said. “This event is brought to you by Pinterest fails and the dollar store, so please set your expectations appropriately,” the note read. “As requested, the theme will be unicorns but with rainbows and maybe bats. But there should be princesses, also Minnie. But we need dancing lights, so dress accordingly.” The invitation went on to hilariously describe what parents should pack for their children, before attending the party. “Please pack a bathing suit, puddle jumpers, etc, in case your sweet baby angels decide our original plan sucks, and the pool would be a better time,” the note continued. The mother also invited fellow parents to the party, before noting that she’d understand if the adults say no to attending. “If you would like to drop off and run, we support that entirely,” the parent quipped in the letter. “If you would like to stay, we will provide adult juice and deny any offers to help, to be polite. But deep down, we want to support you. You do you.” Ms LeClaire, who’s based in Ontario, Canada, concluded her video by noting that she and her son are going to the party. “Needless to say, we will absolutely be attending because these are my people,” she said. “This is the kind of mom that I can be friends with.” Along with Ms LeClaire’s son’s name, the invite also had Minnie ears, bats, unicorns, princesses, and a rainbow drawn on it. As of 15 June, the video has more than 5.1m views, with many TikTok users in the comments applauding the honest thoughts that were put in the invitation. “This is incredible. It’s what we’re all thinking when hosting kids parties,” one wrote, while another added: “Do they realise how many people will now be emotionally attending this party?” A third wrote: “I’m glad a parent is finally lowering the standards/expectations because I’m done with these Pinterest/IG inspired kid parties.” Other people also poked fun at the seemingly open-ended dress code at the child’s party. “I think you should go all in and make sure you wear an outfit that hits every theme point. And from a dollar store,” one wrote. @not.just.nat #greenscreen These are my people. #birthdayparty #partyinvitations #parenting #funny #hilarious #adultjuice ♬ Comedy Music - Nissa “Can’t wait to see how everyone interprets ‘dress accordingly.’ Someone better be dressed like a bat princess,” another added. During an interview with Today, the mother who created the invitation, Carys Roberts, noted that the party will be held next month, for her twin daughters, Edie and Elle. She also shared that she came up with the invites pretty quickly, in hopes of amusing some of her fellow parents and making sure that they weren’t too worried about what gifts to get. “Ultimately, I just didn’t want anyone to stress about gifts. The last thing we want is for people to be spending a lot of money. We’re really low-key,” she said. “I’ve received a lot of great feedback and I’m truly thrilled that people thought the invitation was so relatable and funny.” Speaking to Today, Ms LeClaire went on to emphasise that she loved the invitation when she first noticed it. “I started reading it and my jaw dropped. It was so honest and straight up. I was like, ‘I need to be friends with this person.’” The Independent has contacted Ms LeClaire for comment. Read More Mother sparks viral debate for ‘shaming’ parent who refused to give her daughter a slice of cake Woman, 50, to become a surrogate mother for same-sex couple Father sparks debate over his ‘petty’ feud with an 8-year-old about her pool Mom reveals one regret after parent refused to give her child cake amid viral debate Mother sparks debate over parent who wouldn’t give daughter cake Drew Barrymore slams tabloids that claimed she ‘wished’ her mother was dead

If you’re anything like us, the first coffee of the day is the only thing that can get us up on a morning – and it turns out, there’s real science behind it. Everyone knows that coffee can give us a welcome caffeine hit, but it’s now been revealed that the drink also gives us an extra ‘special boost’ too. Scientists have claimed that the act of drinking a cup of joe gives the body a lift, making us more alert, which can’t be replicated merely with caffeine. In fact, new research shows that drinking hot coffee activates additional areas of the brain. Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Scientists from the University of Minho in Portugal and elsewhere looked into the effects of coffee outside of just caffeine content as part of a study – and they found that plain caffeine didn’t have the same impact. In fact, a cup of coffee also influenced working memory and goal-directed behaviour. “There is a common expectation that coffee increases alertness and psychomotor functioning. When you get to understand better the mechanisms underlying a biological phenomenon, you open pathways for exploring the factors that may modulate it and even the potential benefits of that mechanism,” study co-author Nuno Sousa explained. Experts said that drinking coffee actually increased the connectivity in the brain’s more advanced nerve network controlling vision, and other parts involved in working memory, cognitive control and goal-directed behaviour – something not found when participants only took caffeine. Researchers also said that if subjects wanted to not just feel alert but ready to go, caffeine alone might not do the job. “Acute coffee consumption decreased the functional connectivity between brain regions of the default mode network, a network that is associated with self-referential processes when participants are at rest,” study co-author Maria Picó-Pérez said. “The subjects were more ready for action and alert to external stimuli after having coffee,” she added. Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

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A new artificial intelligence (AI) tool may be able to look for early signs of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, speeding up diagnosis. The technology, which could help doctors assess the early signs of the condition more efficiently, has been developed by researchers at the University of Sheffield. Known as CognoSpeak, the system uses a virtual character displayed on a screen to engage a patient in a conversation. It asks questions to test memory, inspired by those used in outpatient consultations and conducts cognitive tests, such as picture descriptions and verbal fluency tests. This tool could help patients start treatments sooner, reduce waiting times and give people certainty earlier Dr Dan Blackburn, University of Sheffield After that, the tool uses AI and speech technology to analyse language and speech patterns to look for signs of dementia, Alzheimer’s disease and other memory disorders. Researchers behind the technology suggest it could play a key role in reducing the burden on dementia assessment services, once further testing in GP and memory clinics across the UK is complete. The National Audit of Memory Assessment Services in England and Wales, conducted between January and August 2021 by the Royal College of Psychiatrists and supported by Alzheimer’s Society, found that the average waiting time from referral to dementia diagnosis had increased to 17.7 weeks. This was up from 13 weeks in 2019, with waiting times across services nationwide ranging between zero and 104 weeks (two years), compared to three and 34 in 2019. There are currently around 900,000 people in the UK living with dementia, and this is projected to almost double by 2040, according to the Alzheimer’s Society. Dr Dan Blackburn, from the University of Sheffield’s Department of Neuroscience, said: “Waiting for a possible diagnosis of dementia can be a very anxious time for patients and their families. “This tool could help patients start treatments sooner, reduce waiting times and give people certainty earlier. “The CognoSpeak system could transform how dementia and other memory disorders are diagnosed by speeding up assessments. “This would also free up clinicians’ valuable time and mean that those who need specialist care get access to it as quickly as possible.” Also an Honorary Consultant Neurologist at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and researcher at NIHR Sheffield BRC, he added: “There is a real clinical need for this kind of technology. “There are long waiting lists for memory clinics across the UK, but there are also inequalities in accessing the memory clinics service. “The CognoSpeak tool can reduce these inequalities and help make the service more efficient.” The CognoSpeak system could transform how dementia and other memory disorders are diagnosed by speeding up assessments Dr Dan Blackburn Professor Heidi Christensen, from the University of Sheffield’s Department of Computer Science, added: “The way a person speaks can tell us a great deal about their cognitive health and emotional wellbeing, and give us a very early indication of any signs of cognitive decline that may not otherwise have been detected. “The system we’ve developed here at Sheffield uses speech technology to automatically extract these signs and the automation means we can provide a consistent, accurate and fast assessment for everyone. “CognoSpeak is advanced, high tech and based on world-leading research in this field. “We have the biggest collection of data for this type of assessment anywhere in the world, which we’re using to advance the technology and improve its accuracy.” The system is being designed in a way that means once it is fully rolled out, a GP could refer a person with memory complaints to use the technology. CognoSpeak would send the test results back to the GP and then they would decide whether to refer the patient to a memory clinic for further assessment. The programme can be accessed through a web browser – meaning patients are able to take the test in the comfort of their home, rather than having to wait for a hospital appointment to take a pen-and-paper-based assessment. Researchers say early trials have shown the technology is as accurate at predicting Alzheimer’s as the current written tests used to assess or screen for cognitive, memory or thinking impairments. According to the team, previous research has demonstrated accuracies of 90% for distinguishing people with Alzheimer’s from people that are cognitively healthy. Developed by Dr Blackburn and Prof Christensen, the system is still in the research phase, but a £1.4 million National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) grant will allow it to be trialled more widely. The researchers are recruiting 700 participants from memory clinics across the UK to help develop the system further. The tool has been developed in collaboration with Therapy Box – a company specialising in speech and language technology – and the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Devices for Dignity MedTech Cooperative (D4D). Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Reading for pleasure in childhood boosts brain health in teenage years – study Stan Wawrinka on setbacks, preparing for Wimbledon and friendship with Roger Federer Hacks for saving money on school uniforms

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