Leigh-Anne's story
For a long time, Leigh-Anne felt she had things under control. Her eldest son had been diagnosed with Autism at age three and, later on received a diagnosis for ADHD. He was granted an Educational Health Care Plan (EHCP) and his primary years in a specialist school were happy – he had friends, and received the support he needed.
Everything changed with the move to secondary school. The local Social, Emotional, and Mental Health (SEMH) school unfortunately wasn’t the right fit. Between the lack of support from staff and the challenging environment, his mental health began to spiral. Leigh-Anne suddenly found she was in a position where she had to be the voice for her son, to make sure he got the education that he was entitled to.
By May 2023, Leigh-Anne took the decision to take her son out of the school for his own wellbeing. Following this she attended numerous meetings and reviews with the school, spoke with Governors and the SEN officers at Herts County Council to try and find a way that her son could receive the support that he needed.
The turning point
It was during this incredibly stressful time that Leigh-Anne called the ADD-vance helpline and Donna, our Neurodiversity Support Hub Manager answered. Leigh-Anne said, “I just remember thinking, ‘Wow, this woman knows so much – she’s a fountain of knowledge,’”
Leigh-Anne says in those early days, the helpline became a lifeline. It was a place where she could vent without being judged and no question was considered silly or not worth asking. While friends and family were supportive, having a professional like Donna on the end of the phone gave Leigh-Anne the tools and confidence she needed to navigate the system and help get her son the education he deserved.
A new beginning
While her son was out of school, Leigh-Anne worked with Special Educational Need (SEN officers) to get him access to learning outside of the school environment. He ended up attending Young Education located in Stevenage which helped him reintegrate into a learning environment and was under CAMHS for his mental health. Leigh-Anne kept in regular contact with ADD-vance during this time, and along with supporting Leigh-Anne to help her get support for her son, Donna was also able to advise of activities that he could do whilst he wasn’t in school which meant he kept busy and active.
When Leigh-Anne heard about a new specialist provision being built, she saw a glimmer of hope. She reached out to her SEN officer, and because of the work she’d put into his EHCP and profile, he was reserved a space to start in September 2024. Leigh-Anne called Donna when she found out – delighted to be able to share the news with her as she felt they had both been on the journey together.
Since starting at the school, the change has been night and day. He is thriving so much that he recently won a “Spirit Award” for the way he supports his classmates. As Leigh-Anne puts it: “You wouldn’t even know what he’s been through.”
“I felt more confident”
The support from ADD-vance proved helpful again when Leigh-Anne’s daughter – who is also Autistic but presented very differently to her brother, whilst she had always struggled through school, it was when she started secondary school that it quickly became clear that she couldn’t cope in a mainstream secondary environment, and very quickly her mental health spiralled to the point she was signed off school by a medical professional.
Leigh-Anne worked with Donna again, however, this time she felt different. “I felt more knowledgeable and more confident”. When Leigh-Anne put together the evidence for her daughter’s school place to the provision panel, and in December her daughter joined her brother at the same specialist provision. Like her brother, she is now thriving, and happy in school.
Why ADD-vance Matters
Leigh-Anne is now one of ADD-vance’s biggest advocates, recommending the service to everyone she meets, from WhatsApp groups to Facebook.
“When I call and Donna isn’t there, I still get that same amazing level of support. It feels like my tribe,” she says. “There’s no judgement, and you can’t ask a stupid question. I always come away from a call feeling uplifted, with clear steps on what to do next.”
After navigating health issues and bereavement alongside the challenges of SEND parenting, Leigh-Anne knows how much these phone calls matter. Without them, she doesn’t think her children would be where they are today; happy, settled, and finally in the right place.
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