Rachel Filmer

So I was like, I'm going to be really obedient.

I'm also autistic.

So I'm going to make sure I line up everything and everyone does what they're meant to do and they'll all get to school and it will be joyful.

And it wasn't.

But the hardest thing was that my biggest battle was actually with the system and not with my kids.

My kids, it's been a learning journey.

But I learned once a child went onto suicide watch, I was just like, I need to jump ship.

I can't do this anymore.

I need to find a new way of parenting.

And once I did that...

I began to flourish as a parent.

My kids began incrementally to change and we began to see changes.

And then, you know, of course, loads of parents, including us, will have had a social services investigation.

My goodness me.

That's quite normal.

We like brush this stuff off like it's like, yeah.

I had to deal with one of those.

They've taken it to tribunal, your case.

Yeah, we've had one of those.

Your child's been out of school for three years and now you're a full-time carer.