Thank you can never be enough

My son has autism and as he was getting older, he became lonelier and more isolated form his peers. I had no idea that he had been talking to someone on Snapchat, and eventually met this ‘exploiter’ during the day when I thought I had left him at home safe with his phone. The truth is that out there are monsters who target vulnerable children and inflict horrendous abuse on them, the whole experience has been like a living hell.

I can honestly say if I had not found Ivison Trust then I don’t think I would have got through this.

My Ivison Trust worker was amazing and I wouldn’t have got through without her.

She provided me a safe place to let everything out and be listened to; I always remember asking her “Is it normal to feel like this”. She always reassured me and explained things in a way which made sense, she never made me feel judged and showed me real empathy.

I can never thank her enough for the help she gave me, this help helped me to support my son in the best way I could. She has inspired me to become a counsellor and, in time, I would like to be able to support parents like myself how have gone through similar experiences.

As a society we don’t want to ever imagine that these things go on, let alone could happen to your family. There is not enough support out there for parents and children and sadly this abuse will not stop. I will not let my son be defined by this. With the help of a private counsellor, he is doing so well.

We need charities like Ivison Trust.

Thank you can never be enough.