Hi, I’m Paula and co-founder of PDA support Lancs.
In 2022 my then 13 year old son went into Autistic burnout.
Prior to this, we did not know he was autistic but he had suffered years of school related anxiety which progressively worsened. Hitting burnout literally turned our world upside down and the life we had been accustomed had to change significantly to accommodate the care and support needed during recovery.
Fast forward two years, we have now secured an EHCP with an EOTAS package and is our son is coming on in leaps and bounds.
This has been an incredibly traumatic and life changing experience for all our family. A rollercoaster of highs and lows whilst discovering a new way of life and battling the system to get the education and support put into place.
We have worked hard on low demand/trauma informed parenting and we are now seeing the positive benefits of this.
It has felt extremely lonely at times, overwhelming and mentally exhausting. Discovering parent support groups has been key to helping me navigate the past few years and help my own mental health.
I am forever grateful for the support I received in my darkest moments and for the continued support I receive to date. I am also grateful to the autistic advocates who have given me insight into their lived experience and helped me understand and support my child’s recovery and future moving forward.
Me and the other co-founder of the group met randomly at an Autism consortium event and discovered we had a very similar story. It was such a relief to find someone that just got it!
My mantra: Knowledge is power, find your tribe and self care because it’s a tough journey!.
I run a monthly face to face parent support group in Preston and hold regular zoom sessions. This helps supports families who have children struggling to attend school, covering a multitude of barriers to education.
For enquires you can use the contact form on our website.