"Her genuine smile, kind eyes, gentle words put us at ease"

My son has been on this journey since he was 6. Sadly neurodivergent diagnosis was on received recently, he is now a teenager. I spoke to his clinician Laura on the phone at length about his struggles over the years, especially in school. She was professional, compassionate, caring, supportive, and invested from the first phone call.

From the first moment we met Laura, her genuine smile, kind eyes, and gentle words put us at ease. I instantly felt, she was going to form a connection with my son (although it might take a few sessions). At first my son was quite uncomfortable, fidgety, and struggled to make any eye contact at all. But after a few sessions just as I expected, he began to build trust, and form a bond with Laura. He is a hard nut to crack, but Laura used the right tools to help him open up about his feelings, struggles, strengths, and day to day life.

Laura was fabulous about keeping us informed with his progress. She really helped put our fears at ease, and listened with intent, and without judgment as we spoke at length about our feelings of things that had happened to him in the past, but more importantly what diagnosis would look like support wise for him in the future, especially in a school setting.

She took time to listen to him, especially about his interests, where he would speak freely and easily about his great love of family, friends, and football. She tapped into these things, and took the time to introduce them into things that they were discussing to make the more appealing and attractive to him to open up about. She used things he loved to explain about ADHD and Autism relatable to him.

I’m forever grateful for that, because I know this made his diagnosis less scary and more normal, as he realised people that he knows and looks up to have similar strengths and struggles. It helped him feel less different and alone. He could see the potential in himself for the first time, and that he could achieve great things in his life because some of his hero’s had overcome obstacles, to follow their passions in their personal and professional lives.

Laura was always patient, attentive, and respectful to how he was feeling, knowing when to press or pull back because of his body language, his silence, understanding of what was being asked, or his desire to share on certain subjects. 

She is excellent at normalising being neurodivergent, and assured him that lots of people that he knows are on the spectrum, even if they are really good at masking, just like he is. She explained that ADHD and Autism look different for everyone, and not everyone exhibits the same symptoms. I think this helped him look at his diagnosis from a new perspective. 

Laura went above & beyond for my son. She told us early on he had confirmed ADHD because of information we shared, he shared, and the school shared. She told us she’d need more time to work on the autism diagnosis, as she wasn’t sure he fit all the criteria and didn’t want to misdiagnosis him. We were so grateful that she took the extra time, spent extra sessions with him, sent someone to observe him at school, and spoke to his PT inclusion teacher in depth.

I know with all my heart that Laura didn’t give that diagnosis lightly, until she had all the proof she needed to be certain. She delivered the diagnosis to us first, then to him. She commented she had never met a boy that was more accepting of their diagnosis than him. I think a huge part of that is because of the dignity and respect that she should to our son throughout this process. 

Laura has continued to support our family since diagnosis. She invited us to a course to help us understand more about autism. She came to the school for a meeting with different teachers involved in his care plan, and explained his diagnosis’s and advocated for him, using strategies that will benefit him in the classroom. She has helped me in numerous occasions to apply for a disability living allowance and access card for him, to make his life easier in stressful situations. 

Laura is a credit to her profession, I couldn’t have asked for a better person to guide us through this journey. She is the first person I’ve encountered in 8yrs who genuinely wants to help our son, and who sees the amazing boy under the mask. She always focused on his strengths and was never shy in praising him, telling him how wonderful he is, and how much he is capable of. She instilled a new self of self belief, self worth, and self confidence in our lovely boy. It’s been a pleasure, privilege and a joy to work with Laura, and we are forever grateful and indebted to her for kindness, care, and empathy for my son.

Thank you from the bottom of our heart.