Just Like Me CIC Support for the SEND community

In 2023 my autistic son experienced what I could only describe as a mental breakdown. He was 9 years old and in a mainstream school. He was vomiting, having school refusal, depressed, angry & losing weight by the days as he had no appetite. A child who never slept all of a sudden would fall asleep at 3.30pm.

After taking him out of school, seeking our GP’s advice and spending thousands of pounds on assessments, we discovered he had a range of SEND, which included Dyspraxia, ADHD & PDA.

We applied for an EHCP and desperately tried to get him help, CAMHS kept dismissing us due to his Autism diagnosis.

Nearly 12 months on, we are just awaiting for a specialist provision to be named for our son to return to education. We still haven’t received any real support from CAMHS and have instead used a charity for Counselling sessions.

We thought we were a fluke, not a chance this was common. Turns out, I was wrong! This is so very common. Infact, within 24 hours of me posting a research questionnaire regarding kids like my son, I had 150 responses, from my local community!!

These children are left in limbo whilst out of school, they have no education or anything for their well-being and the majority of parents have to give up their jobs, surviving off £75 a week carers allowance. This doesn’t give them the additional funds they need to go on days out or do activities their kids may find enjoyable. This is where “Just Like Me” was created. We want to be able to fund an activity per week for these kids to do whilst they are awaiting placements. Whether this be a cinema trip or a horse riding lesson, whatever the child will feel HAPPY doing.

We would also like to work with children who, because of their Neurodivergence, are unable to access Mental Health services, such as counselling sessions. Funding these for 6 weeks could make a huge impact on a child’s mentality. Offering wellness activities, like Yoga, would also be beneficial, if the child is willing to do so.

Eventually, a wellness hub, is our end goal. But for now, we need to take small steps to help children, like my son, thrive.

The name & the logo was created by my son.