Looking for other mums for support

ellsiex02

I have a son called Finlay who is two and has global developmental delay. I am thinking that he may be autistic but we wouldn’t know until he’s older about that. He stims a lot, he cannot speak or walk yet but bum shuffles everywhere to get himself about. He’s very funny and babbles all the time, he says mama and dada and he shakes his head and nods his head. He is very vocal and hyper and lively. He’s overall a happy boy. He is a rather beige eater (I’ve tried so many different food with him but he likes what he likes despite my efforts) and he loves books and toys with wheels. He goes to a stay and play group in the city every Wednesday with me (we are from Norwich area). I just would like to meet more mums with problems that I have. I am only 23 years old and there seems to be so many challenges.

Mary_Scope

Hi @ellsiex02 and a warm welcome to the community from me!

Thank you for telling us a little bit about Finlay, it good to hear he's a happy little boy!

Have you explored your local offer or your local parent carer forum before? This is a great resource of all things related to disability and often if there is any local parent carer groups and coffee mornings for parents, they are advertised on here. It looks like your local offer has a pretty active and up to date calender of upcoming events for families including some coffee mornings.

There is Norfolk and Norwich SEND Association who seem to offer lots different services and support for children and their families including SENsational families support group for parents and carers as well as a private facebook group which I hope will be helpful in finding other parents who are going through a similair experience with their child.

There is also Norfolk and Waveney Autism/ADHD Support Service and it says you don't need an autism diagnosis to access support as they offer support to families seeking advice about how to start the journey and get a child or young person onto the assessment pathway.

It looks like they offer lots of different types of support to families including a supportive Facebook group and friendly and informal drop-in support groups to meet other parents and carers.

I also found Autism Explorers which looks like is based in Norwich and they have lots of activities for children which may be a good place to meet other parents as well. It doesn't say you need a diagnosis to attend the stay and plays either.

Hopefully some other members will be along soon and offer some advice and support as I know we do have some parent carers on the community

I hope this was helpful, if there is anything else you would like help or support with please let me know😊