Nicola and Elijah's story

Elijah was diagnosed with ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) at age 6 after years of severe sleep deprivation. As a single working mother to Elijah from aged 2 years, this was incredibly challenging for Nicola and as a consequence, Nicola was periodically signed off work with exhaustion and stress. In the subsequent 4 years Nicola found her fiancé Mark.

Despite his loving support, Nicola suffered a recent breakdown which culminated during the COVID-19 Pandemic when Elijah’s school closed and she was expected to home school her son with his SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disability) and continue working as a Project Coordinator supporting some of the most vulnerable people as a Key Worker.

She always found it difficult to make time for herself and often spent most of her free time researching how to better support Elijah’s needs and maintain the family schedule. Things often overwhelmed her and she struggled to find the positives in her day to day life. A work colleague suggested a HOPE course to try and despite feeling like a failure and a really low ebb, Nicola signed up for the Hope Programme for Parents of Autistic Children ran in Coventry in 2020.

“The course was phenomenal. I was unsure whether or not I had the energy to approach this, but I am so glad I did!” Even after a staggered start due to her mental health really dipping, Nicola dedicated herself to making time for her. “I was encouraged by the course facilitators and reassured that there is plenty of time to make a start if I felt I still wanted to. It was a huge weight off my already heavy shoulders”.

Nicola took the time to embrace the course and really benefitted from it “I couldn’t believe how the simple things in life, like journaling, gratitude and goal setting, could make such a huge difference to my health wealth, both mentally and physically”. Nicola has been able to better balance her needs alongside all of her other commitments. She is back to work and has a revived understanding of herself.

“I have been back to work now for 2 months. The HOPE Programme has given me some great life skills, a toolkit if you like so I can confidently bring any challenges back from chaos to rebalancing and nurturing me”.