MEET THE AMBASSADORS '25
Tracey (Ms Devon)
I’m a 50 year old Mum who has a Step-son aged 28, Sons 23 and 18 and a 14 year old daughter with my partner Jeff. We are a Neurodivergent family (Autism, ADHD, PDA, Dyslexia, OCD and others) we are learning more about ourselves every day.
This journey into the SEND community started when I had my first son diagnosed Autistic at age 16. How on earth did we miss it? So I certainly went down that rabbit hole and researched myself because as you know the NHS support is pretty limited. And I have to say I learnt the most from the online Autistic community. I ordered books and read. I took part in seminars and that lead to my youngest daughter being diagnosed Autistic with a PDA profile and my middle son being screened (he has chosen at present not to have an official diagnosis). And that leaves us as parents then going through the lightbulb moments and looking back at ourselves and our experiences (EBSA being a big one for myself and daughter) a diagnosis is something we are both open to in the future. I also have experience on how to apply for an EHCP and find the right setting for my daughter who is currently in a Specialist School.
We as a family love watching Rugby live and on the TV. Our 18 year old plays for our local club. I love to read not just books on Neurodivergence but Fantasy too (great escapism indeed) We are animal loving and currently have 4 cats who are so much fun. And my daughter rides horses regularly. We love food and everyone has different likes and dislikes in this family but a Roast Dinner is always a hit for sure.
I’m really looking forward to this new journey with Lavinia and the team at The M Word. They have supported myself and my family on numerous occasions and I have so appreciated it. Living this life can be hard and very isolating indeed. But one thing is for sure you do not need to be alone.
Louise (Ms East Sussex)
Having graduated from Leicester University with a Batchelor of Science Psychology Degree (BSc, Hons) I intended to continue my education and pursue a career in educational psychology. However, the universe had an alternative plan for me and having met my husband at University we went on to have 3 amazing children who I loved being at home with whilst working in finance and property. I kept my keen interest in Psychology alive listening to podcasts, attending webinars and reading books and research papers in my spare time in between adventures and long walks with our much loved French Bulldog, Mani.
Little did I know at the time, that 2 of our 3 children were neurodiverse and would struggle with school and education and that my attention and interests would soon evolve more into the mental health and support needs of children and their caregivers.
My children being able to access a full, supportive and successful education and not suffer poor mental health as a consequence became my focus and in learning and absorbing everything I could in this area I was able to support our whole family and subsequently our extended family and friends.
Our children and us as parents have benefited hugely from the work we did with Lavinia at this time and they have all grown into the most ambitious, successful, happy adults which is a far cry from where we were before Lavinia shared her passion and knowledge with us when the children were younger.
I am now a very proud Granny to our first Grandson who is neurodiverse also. This has prompted me to take my interest in Psychology, Mental Health and Neurodiversity to the next level by becoming an Ambassador for The M Word whom we will always be eternally grateful to.
I have enjoyed, more recently, supporting a wider network of local families in need of Mental Health support who have reached out to me, having known our family for many years and seeing for themselves the progress in education and well-being in our own children since working with Lavinia. I never hesitate to recommend the M Word so I am looking forward to making this more formal and becoming an ambassador.
Nicola (Ms Kent)
Hi, I'm Nic and I am based in Kent. I am the parent to my amazing 11 year old boy, who is diagnosed with Autism and Dyslexia. He also has other conditions within his profile which are not diagnosed, namely PDA, ADHD, ARFID, sensory processing difficulties and anxiety. I am forever researching, looking for ways to help him become the best he can be, in his own unique way, and have learnt about Reflexology, Essential Oils, Energy Medicine, Angelic Reiki, Primitive Reflexes and EFT Tapping, so far. It is also how I found The M Word. Life as a SEN parent can be very challenging at times but I have learnt a lot about myself on this journey, that would not have been possible without my son.
Claire (Ms Lancashire)
My name is Claire and I am mum to 3 children, aged 20, 14 and 9. There was always something 'different' about my middle child, and since he was about 7 yrs old, I have been talking to teachers etc about neurodiversity and being assessed. For years I was fobbed off with comments like, "he's too sociable to be autistic" and "he's fine when he is at school". Well he might have been, but at home he wasn't!
Things came to a head when he went to secondary school and he couldn't cope with the constant change from class to class and different expectations. We struggled with the threats of being 'in trouble' if his attendance didn't improve and he would jump the fence to come home because school was not a safe place for him. Eventually we got a diagnosis of ADHD and I said enough is enough. Despite being told he wouldn't get one, I applied for an EHCP and low and behold, he was appointed a wonderful SEN officer and we got a plan in place. Since then he has had a period of 9 months out of school with an EOTAS package of home learning and we now have a place at an alternative provision for education in the morning and a bespoke package of other activities with 1:1 support in the afternoons.
So if you are at the start of your journey, I have been where you are. But don't give up. You are your child's most knowledgeable expert. With help and support you will get there and it can get easier.
Wendy (Ms Lothian)
I first became aware of The M Word cic after fortuitously stumbling across a Mental Health and Autism webinar that Lavinia was delivering. I joined the Facebook Community Group to continue my thorough research before deciding TMW and the Expert Parent Programme was exactly what our family needed. I was right! Since then, I have become so passionate about the ethos and work of both The M Word and Emotional Problem Solving that I have been working as a volunteer (Non Exec) for the past two years. I was very excited to read Lavinia’s call for TMW Ambassadors as I would also love to help other parents who are struggling. I know it can be a very lonely, isolating and scary time. No family should need to go through this alone and I hope to provide the peer support that I so desperately needed when first starting out on this journey.
Nicola (Ms Norfolk)
Hi! I’m Nicola, and have reached the vintage age of 54, somehow. It is most likely I am not a neurotypical person myself and I live with PTSD, anxiety and Fibromyalgia. I’m mum to 4 not-so-little children now aged 34, 31, 20 and 17. Each of them completed part of their education journey electively home educated due to, what I now know, were unmet SEN; I instinctively met their needs where we were at at the time and they’re all very appreciative of that. In 2021 I was made aware of the service Lavinia offers and asked her to assess my younger two children who were struggling. As a result of the screening we went on to have them, and my second eldest, assessed for Autism and ADHD. My third child has been fully assessed and is Autistic with AHDH combined type, my second child is now diagnosed ADHD combined type and is waiting for her Autism assessment, my youngest has both his assessments in the next few weeks. These 3 also have ME/CFS, one of them is Dyslexic and two of them have Dyspraxia. My youngest had returned to school and wanted to remain there so I pursued securing an EHCP for him which was a steep and stressful learning curve for me! I’m still very much learning about SEN, as I was not aware this is what we were living with as it was all normal for us as a family. The processes surrounding EHCPs, educational support and provision in mainstream education, or the lack of it in some cases are all things I’m still working on, however I feel my experience of all these years lived experience could go some way to helping other people.
Louise (Ms Wrexham)
Hi, my name is Louise. I'm a mother of 3 children. My eldest daughter is autistic and we have been through a somewhat difficult journey over the last few years. Eventually she had to come out of school due to burnout and spent a year just trying to recover which is when I sought the help of Lavinia. We are now in a much better place and looking towards the future. I am hoping to help other parents navigating the challenges facing ND children using my knowledge and experience.
FAQ's
What is an Ambassador?
Their role every month is to try and raise parent’s awareness around mental health and neuro-diverse traits to help support parents who have had their children rejected by CAMHS and have nowhere to go for support. Our motto is about ‘cutting to the chase’ and the earlier the intervention, the better the outcome for our young people. Sometimes, with feeling so isolated, having an Ambassador who you can reach out to can just make such a difference of knowing someone has already walked in your shoes.
Ambassadors 2025 are currently in training with The M Word cic, and, at times, will be completing the Modules through Emotional Problem Solving Ltd, sister company to TMW cic. By the end of 2025, it is anticipated having some very skilled and knowledgeable Ambassadors (parents) who can support other parents around neuro-diverse presentations as well as supporting mental health.
Please see below our 2025 Ambassadors. Feel free to reach out to any one of them as they all wish to help others, having wished they had help for them.
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