Hi my name is Sam (H & L's Mum) – I wanted to say thank you so much for everything you’ve done for L, H and myself. Before I contacted you we had been through nearly three years of the most difficult times of our life. Both the girls were suffering extreme anxiety and depression. They were both self harming and had made attempts to take their lives, resulting in hospital admissions. Even with all of this we had no support. I was phoning CAMHS on a daily basis begging them to help. However apparently even after H's three day stay in hospital after an overdose she was classed as low risk of harming herself. There were nights I was afraid to leave my teenage daughters in their rooms unsupervised. I was in a difficult relationship with my partner and had to deal with this on my own. This didn’t help the girls anxiety. Both girls had to leave school in their final exam years (one GCSE’s the other A level’s) up until their mental health deteriorated they had both been A grade students. However the situation was so desperate, removing them from school to stop them harming themselves was the only option. Exams suddenly were unimportant (although not to the girls unfortunately). Subsequently after two years I went private (still waiting over 6 months) and H was diagnosed with ASD, anxiety and depression. However we still had no support and no idea who to go to for help, either NHS or private, we just didn’t know what we needed. I felt totally useless, like I was failing my girls and absolutely petrified I would wake up one day and they wouldn’t be there. This has all severely affected my mental health and resulted in me also suffering with anxiety and depression. I then came across The Positive Path Foundation. But more importantly Jane. From the first time I called Jane she gave up over an hour to speak to me, I felt a weight had been lifted from my shoulders. Jane has offered immense support to all three of us. She has been there for H at all hours. Prior to meeting Jane, H refused to speak to any professionals. She got her to open up at the first meeting. I asked H why she felt she could talk to Jane and she said that she didn’t ask her the same silly questions all the others did eg. ‘ How do you feel on a scale of 1-10’ ‘if I could change one thing in your life what would it be’ She feels very comfortable with Jane, I would say from what I saw in our joint session that H feels listened to by her. Other professional counsellors I’ve taken the girls to have always made them feel uncomfortable. They have also dealt only with the girls and stated what they talk about is confidential so have had no involvement with me. Jane's approach is more cohesive. With H's permission she's involved all of us, suggesting alternative ways that we can communicate to reduce tension and conflict. We still have a long way to go, but I feel I now have someone on my side that really cares, primarily for L and H, but also for us all. I now feel there’s a light at the end of the tunnel. Jane's understanding and explanation of autism and behaviour and how we all need to make changes in order to communicate and live happier lives, is amazing. I appreciate everything you’ve done for us, but mostly for helping H, listening to her, hearing her and supporting her. Keep up the good work, there are so many children suffering when they don’t need to.

Hi my name is Anonymous - (Mum) – I was recommended to call Jane Atkinson at Positive Path Foundation as I was struggling with my 10 year old autistic daughter. She was not attending school due to her anxiety snd lack of support. I was becoming increasingly concerned with her mental health and the process of her transitioning to secondary school. Jane has helped my daughter and our family beyond anything I could imagine. She has been helping my daughter gain confidence, earn coping strategies, friendship skills and build her self-esteem. Jane has also been a huge support to the rest of the family as we were struggling before. She has supported us with my daughter's annual review and liaises with her school and SEN. My daughter has grown very close to Jane and sees her as a constant in her life. I can't thank Jane enough for all she has done and continues to do!

Hi my name is Amanda (Mum) – My daughter had struggled throughout school with a late diagnosis of ASD in Yr10. This journey has been emotionally and mentally exhausting unlike no other. It seemed clear there was nowhere to go, no-one to turn to, no genuine help available to us. As a parent, I felt completely overwhelmed, alone and rock bottom. Until one day, a friend suggested I contact Jane Atkinson at Positive Path Foundation. I will never forget the phone call I made that day. Jane understood everything I said. Jane has been amazing and changed our families lives forever. We have been given the chance to live and enjoy life again without the fear and worry we once felt. Positive Path Foundation has helped give my daughter and the whole family our lives back. Thank you Jane xx

Hi my name is Elaine (Mum) – Since making contact with Jane Atkinson at Positive Path Foundation she has been an instant and incredible support. I am a single mum battling a system not designed to offer the right support for neurodivergent children. Jane first and foremost gave me the confidence to believe that things will be ok. She has stepped in with school SENCO and the local authority and has got an EHCP application in process and escalated. She has spent time helping me fill in a much needed DLA form. She has organised parent support groups which have been invaluable. She has also met my son and is now offering alternative provisions and therapy to help him return to education. Without Jane and her amazing charity my son and I would still be in a very stressful situation.

Hi my name is Andrew – I have been a member of the Positive Path Foundation since February 2022. The first event I attended was a TGI Fridays and Games night. Due to past experiences with trying to make friends and past experiences of bullying, I was very nervous about trying to make new friends; however, after attending my first event with Positive Path Foundation and doing the TGI Fridays and games night, I was really optimistic about making new friends. The dinner members, including Jane and Shelley, were so welcoming; it was like joining a great and giant family of people who all wanted to make friends and be happy. It has been great to meet other Positive Path members, supporters and Staff throughout all the other events I have attended. Jane and Shelley are full of joy and happiness and also very funny. They create a positive experience even when being silly and start running around the restaurant as Christmas characters, making the event perfect and enjoyable. Jane has also been a massive help when I need it. I can talk to her when I feel low or worried and know she will help as much as possible. Jane understands what it is like for someone like us to live with a disability. She knows how to help overcome problems and return on a positive path. Shelley also, with Jane, runs fantastic workshops to help all of us be more independent. I recently attended a Money Management workshop, and it was great to learn more about managing money when I get older. Looking forward to doing more workshops with Shelley and Jane and learning more skills. If someone I met was like me and had a disability and maybe needed assistance with personal problems and even help to make some solid friendships, I would recommend the Positive Path Foundation. I have learnt from joining Positive Path that you may have a label saying: you have a disability. Still, you also have so much more to give and skillsets that others around you would love to have. With Positive Path's help and support, you can start your journey to happiness. My future with Positive Path will be great while making new friends and becoming more sociable. I also now get support with employability, which is a package I am so grateful to have, the best decision I have made in a long time. Thank you, Jane and Shelley!

Hi my name is George – I am so happy that my Mum set up Positive Path Foundation as I have made lots of wonderful friends. I have so much fun at all of the PPF events and workshops. I regularly meet up with my best buddy Josh and my other friends to hang out, go to sporting events, eat out and go to the movies. I love being a team leader and helping new members settle in. Shelley, who works at PPF is like the big sister I never had, she is loads of fun and really caring. I can't thank my Mum enough for making this possible.

Hi my name is Katie – Words cannot describe the way Positive Path Foundation has changed my life, becoming a member is the best thing I have ever done and made my life so much better. I have made best friends and friends for life; it’s given me the social life that I never thought was possible. Jane and Shelley are amazing! Katie xxx

Hi my name is Chris – I'm a member of Positive Path Foundation!

Hi my name is Josh – I have been a member of the Positive Path Foundation now since it very first started all the back in late 2019. I attended the very first event which happened at the end of January 2020 and I can vividly remember how much fun it was and how it was super refreshing to meet new people and engage in a really supportive environment with the wonderful Jane and Shelley at hand to oversee and run the events with superb accuracy at involving everyone and making sure we have the best time ever. From that very first event it then got even more exciting as the membership list gradually started grow and grow and it went from strength to strength in terms of the charity being able to put on more exciting events like disco nights and trips to the zoo and bowling and not to mention the crazy golf which is always popular with the members. Since 2021 the charity has put on a weekend away residential somewhere with great activities on offer and a lot of fun and laughter to be had with the PPF Family. I've especially benefited and enjoyed the opportunity to get away from home and to forget about all my worries and troubles happening for a couple of day's. I can honestly say that without this charity in my life and without the connections and the people I've made friend's with my life would be drastically different today in a way that honestly I don't think I'd be able to cope socially around people because I'd be too anxious, worried and overwhelmed to think about surrounding myself with new people. It's honestly brought me out of my shell massively and given me a huge surge of confidence boosting into a lot of areas in my life where I massively needed it. Without the Positive Path Foundation I would simply not have made it through the pandemic because of the mental strain it was having on me and how badly it was affecting me. The lockdowns especially were difficult however through zoom calls upon which we did bingo it did manage to help me not feel so alone. Even just being able to meet up with Jane and her amazing incredible son George for whom she set up the charity so he could feel included socially and mix with people his age who would understand his autism. Just being able to meet up with Jane and George for some socially distanced walks in the new forest helped massively as restrictions eased. Me and George as time went on began to strike up a very good friendship so much so that we are now besties and chat everyday on WhatsApp or text. Having George as a bestie is amazing because he can cheer me up instantly on a really bad day and also Jane and Shelley are super supportive to me when I'm having a really low and down day. Through this charity I've manged to make friend's with super nice and caring people who I feel are friend's for life. This charity has saved my life in many way's and it can transform so many lives if it can get the necessary funding to grow bigger and bigger. I've had some incredible opportunities because I was made a members team leader which is a position I am honoured and privileged to upheld. It means that I support new members and help them settle in. It's great that Jane and Shelley have full confidence in me to be a supportive role to new members who are shy and nervous at events. I will always do what I can to help the charity when they need it. I love my PPF family and it means the absolute world to me to be a part of this. I can see a bright future for the charity and I do believe that it can help massively with the member's mental health and feeling valued and listened to. I hope it can benefit you from reading my testimonial and thanks for taking the time to do that.

Hi my name is Zoe (Mum) – My partner and I contacted Jane Atkinson (Positive Path Foundation) over our concerns about our two young daughters, who were visibly struggling. Jane listened to our our concerns and immediately reassured us that the behaviours and challenges we were seeing were typical of young children with Autistic Spectrum Disorder and our experiences are common among parents of ASD kids. Jane has been nothing but kind, helpful and supportive. She has been there as a shoulder to cry on, but more practically also supported our EHCP meetings and phone calls with other professionals. Jane is attending the assessments of our youngest girl to help us obtain the official diagnosis needed for EHCP. I honestly don’t know what we would have done without Jane. The children love her. Jane goes completely out of her way to help us access the support we need by any means possible. In our experience to date, this is a very rare quality. I would highly recommend her. 5 stars from the children! xxx

Hi my name is Emma – My name is Emma Wilson and I am very happy to be a member of Positive Path Foundation (PPF). I have really enjoyed all of the activities and meeting new friends. Jane and Shelley are such nice people and they work really hard to arrange a lot of activities for us to enjoy. I loved the summer camp at Osmington Bay, where we did climbing, archery, rifle shooting, buggy-building and zip-wire. I also enjoyed movie nights, drama, crazy golf, arcade games, laser tag, barbecue, Valentines day and going to the theatre (we saw School of Rock and Beauty and the Beast). Jane and Shelley are such fun and always make me laugh. I am really grateful for the nice new friends that I have made through PPF.

Hi my name is Tania (Childminder) – Jane came over to talk to myself and a group of local Childminders as we often feel 'lost' when it comes to supporting children with autism and/or SEND needs, and their families. Her in-depth knowledge and first hand experience was invaluable to us. It was so informative speaking to someone who is just so dedicated to fighting for these children's needs, and their families, as they so desperately need such support to tackle the system to get the best outcomes possible for the child.

Hi my name is Nikki (Mum) – We have been working with Jane from the PPF since January 2022. Our youngest son started Secondary School in September 2021 and was having extreme difficulties adjusting and settling into his new environment. We are presently undertaking an EHCP for him and also an ASC assessment, as the Secondary School identified him as being on the Autistic Spectrum. Initially we were lost as a family, with this diagnosis. We just assumed our son was strong willed and would do things in his own time, which has been the case with most of his development on reflection. There was no indication from Primary School other than in Home Schooling during the Pandemic we struggled to get him to engage with this homework at the time. His behaviour was very extreme with regular meltdowns and crying fits, this was taking place at home and within the school setting. He was withdrawn and wouldn't really interact with us as a family. We had a couple of "parental" sessions initially where we explained our history and then Jane suggested different strategies and techniques to use when he was displaying this type of behaviour in the home setting. The strategies whilst seemed "easy" to implement I knew there would be much resistance from our son.....However Jane was on hand whenever I needed reassurance or someone to talk too...and we committed to them and stuck with it. Within a few weeks of sticking to the new way of parenting; I'm pleased to say the strategies were having a positive affect. Our son is interacting with us happily now. He is more engaged with us as family, and there are less meltdowns too!!! If we do have the odd blip/moment, then I feel confident with how to handle these situations now and for that I will be eternally grateful. We continue to work with Jane, she is supporting us through the EHCP process and helping us liaise with the various Departments this involves. I would 100% recommend Positive Path Foundation.

Hi my name is Fraser – Life has changed for Fraser over the last 6 months since discovering this wonderful charity. He is accepted, acknowledged and appreciated within a group, offered opportunities to socialise, interact and communicate in a safe and age appropriate environment. Jane and Shelley source a mix of fun and engaging activities and events that I can’t replicate at home. He has learn new skills whilst taking part in archery, rock climbing and go karting and built friendships and trust whilst playing team games and sports. Fraser very much looks forwards to the events, always keen to know when the next outing is which gives him a sense of belonging and inclusion. As parents, other than his school days, we provided all his social and leisure activities which were often poorly attended due to his isolation within the community and his peers. He is thriving within his new found group, talking about ‘my friends’ which is heartwarming to hear. We drop him off in the capable hands of Jane and Shelley knowing he will have a fantastic time, which also allows us some hours of respite and a break. I wholeheartedly recommend Positive Path Foundation for the exceptional service they provide and the productive impact it has had on our lives - Georgi, Fraser's mum

Hi my name is Jay – I found out about positive path last year and thought I would give it a go and I am so glad I did. I love meeting new friends of all ages and always look forward to the next trip . Since starting I have been on a boat trip, crazy golf, bowling, quiz night with dinner, beach games but most of all going to see a show.

Hi my name is Sam Cole – A brilliant group of people who I have developed strong relationships with that has changed my life forever!

Hi my name is Charlotte Rimmington – I love and enjoy being part of the Positive Path Family as everyone is so kind, and we all look after each other as a family. I enjoy going on trips and spending time with everyone. Jane and Shelley are both so kind, caring and such lovely ladies welcoming me into the positive path family group when I joined making me feel like I am part of the positive path family and they make sure everyone in the group is ok. Positive Path Foundation has helped me by giving me the confidence to make new friends my age like my best friend Katie and my friend Tyra who I enjoy meeting up with.

Hi my name is Chris – I enjoy going to the Positive Path events and the people are nice, especially Jane

Hi my name is Ben – The PPF is really fun, we do all sorts of different fun activities, my favourites were bowling, beach games and the pub night. Even when I am anxious Shelley and the others make me feel OK and I still have a great time. I enjoy getting to know new people there. I enjoy the meals they do there, I enjoy the fun entertainment they do there, I do remember on the last residential we did a drama club with funny acting in a play we did. Yeah I enjoyed the boat race and the camp fire. I enjoyed the crazy golf too, the indoor one and the outdoor one. I enjoyed bowling because bowling is one of my favourites. I remember I enjoyed playing Beach Volleyball at the beach one time. Yeah I’m looking forward to the Swanage railway trip going on a train and I’m looking forward to the residential we are going on in the future.

Hi my name is Stephen – Hi, my name is Stephen - I was a little anxious as I didn't know what it would be like until I finally met all these people at Positive Path. And now that I have found it incredibly exciting whilst have been able to make more new friends including George who is such fun, chatty and makes me laugh as he is full of friendly humour since I have had lots of friendly chats with him! The staff I have met are so fun and friendly when they have been watching me and other people help each other in a team during one of the social games or activities. I enjoy the social games we do such as the bingo, quizzes, discos and the outdoor activities we have done like the 'snowtrax' and crazy golf. I also thank all Positive Path for following me on Instagram and l really looking forward to coming to the beach evening next week and all the other fun activities we will do together

Hi my name is Emma – Positive Path Foundation is a fantastic charity. Since I have been a member it has made me feel that I am finally part of something, as we are all treated and respected in the same way. I’m meeting new people and making friends. Since lockdown we have been doing some exciting activities on Zoom which has helped me stay connected. That’s why I like Positive Path Foundation.

Hi my name is Joe – What I enjoyed about being a member is that we are all equal with our disabilities. We are all being positive and you meet all the members and staff who run the charity.

Hi my name is Tyra – I like going to drama club and going to Crazy Golf and meeting new friends. I like hanging out with all the people. I also like doing the zooms with quizzes and bingo and other games. It is fun to be able to talk to others and Jane and her helpers are good and kind and support us all. I like that we go out to coffee shops or pubs and other outings with all of them. It is nice to have new friends to talk to and do things with, together. Jane is a loving caring person who helps us all to understand things and feel better about ourselves. She supports us and encourages