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As this section is about introducing ourselves I thought I'd give it a go. My name is Mike and I run the Dads Group. I have a 23 year old who was diagnosed with an autistic spectrum condition when they were 8. They are extremely bright so academically they've always done really well, recently graduating from uni with a mathematics degree, but have always struggled with social situations as well as putting way too much pressure on themselves leading to intense anxiety and depressive periods. I have 3 other children, a 18 year old lad who has dyslexia and currently studying towards an Engineering degree, an almost 16 year old daughter who is about to finish her GCSE's, but also struggles with anxiety which has hugely impacted on her over this last year, and a 12 year old who causes us daily delight and terror. Both of my younger two have significant challenges and we believe them to be autistic but they have always coped (until recently) with their difficulties just well enough to prevent us moving towards a diagnosis. Lastly, I am married to a wonderful woman who was also recently diagnosed as autistic. So, as you can see, autism (as well as many of the co-occurring conditions we regularly see working alongside autism) features heavily in my life.
As well as a great deal of lived-experience, I have also worked for 20 years of so, with children, young people and families in a variety of settings and roles but mostly in a supportive capacity. This work has enabled me to gather a wealth of experience of helping families to overcome challenges in order to move forward in a more positive manner. I've worked with Looked After Children, children with with additional needs such as autism, ADHD, attachment issues, behavioural issues such as anger management, anxiety based issues, substance and alcohol issues, mental health concerns and much more. This has also included a great deal of parenting support and working with a variety of services.
Lastly, over the years I have completed a vast amount of training which has included parenting courses, courses related to autism and other such conditions, child development, as well as recently undertaking a degree in psychology which I feel has helped me to concrete some of the knowledge I already had gained over the years and help me better understand some of the complexities that many of our children are going through in terms of their development etc.
I believe that all of these aspects give me both a wealth of knowledge and experience, but has also helped me to see the challenges of being a parent from not just my own eyes but countless others. My main goal in life is to support families who may be going through something akin to my own experiences. I feel that Dads Group, along with some other projects that I am involved with, help me to continue to work towards this goal.
So over to you. What brings you to this site? What are your experiences and how do you feel they help you to support your family? What are your ambitions?