Hi, I’m Gemma…

I’m mum to two amazing boys who, it turns out, I’d flip my world upside down for. Nothing prepares you for becoming a parent, does it? Those years of longing to be a parent don’t remotely give you even a glimpse of the reality of parenthood. I’m not talking about nappies and sleepless nights even, I’m talking about the core pain when your child is struggling, that you feel deep inside. Your child needs you more than life itself at that point and you’re already pulled in multiple directions: other children, work, friends and family. The reality is that your child comes first and you’re trying to juggle it all… until you can’t. And that’s when you realise you’re the one who has to come first. I met Julia Bradbury in 2024 and she wrote a message to me when she signed my copy of her book: “fix your own oxygen mask first”. I remind myself of that, daily.

In the background, aside from my main role as Chief Advocator, I’m a qualified teacher working as a Maths Tutor and I’ve been training as a Child and Adolescent Mental Health Coach. After nearly 20 years of working with teens, learning more about neurodiversity, seeing my own children struggle and noticing patterns in the ever-reducing support available, I decided that I wanted to be part of the change. I want to help families like mine feel less like we did for so long. I felt alone, isolated and worried about what the future held for my son and us as a family.

What you’ll find here are things that I’ve learnt along the way, books I’ve found useful and support that has worked.