I am incredibly lucky to have amazing, supportive parents. My Mum and Dad worked hard to give myself and my brother an awesome childhood.

They fought hard for me to be diagnosed and get into a good school. They had to send in an appeal to my secondary school to argue my case, because they believed I would benefit greatly from their Social Skills program in Year 7, and I would do much better in a smaller school. They were correct on both counts. Going to a smaller school was vital, and whilst at the time I found the Social Skills program rather ineffective (all I remember is being asked to identify the emotions on six smiley faces. 5 were easy but I still have no idea what the one with a squiggly line for a mouth is supposed to mean. Nausea?), I think it has benefited me.

Once at sixth form, they helped me when I struggled with the increased work load, and when I had issues with different teachers and their teaching style. They have supported my decisions about which GCSEs to take (though they were doubtful whether I would enjoy Business Studies. They ended up being right, but I mostly struggled with the subject due to the teacher rather than the subject), which A levels to do, and which career I wanted to go into.

My Mum (and Dad!) have always been there for me, and sometimes it’s hard to explain how much I appreciate them and everything they’ve done for me. They’ve always allowed me to be myself (they bought me stim toys, encouraged all of my special interests [even if they still won’t play Pokemon Let’s Go or Zelda Breath of the Wild with me] and understood and helped when I struggled). I would never have come so far without them.

I know I can always tell them if I need help with something, and I know they will always support me.

So thank you Mum and Dad, for being the awesome, weird, supportive parents I needed and the best parents ever (in my unbiased opinion).