Janine Mooney, from Tynemouth, first spotted that her son Jack was autistic when he was 10 months old.
He would get upset and experience a meltdown if new people spoke to him, hitting himself or others around him.
“I was feeling quite lost, I didn’t know where I would go from here,” Janine said.
It was Jack’s health visitor who referred Janine to the North East Autism Society (NEAS), and she was put on a waiting list to join one of our toddler groups.
Jack, now two-and-a-half-years-old, started attending the group in October last year, and staff from NEAS’ Family Development team soon helped him feel comfortable to explore, play, and interact with the other children in the group.
Janine said: “It took about four sessions for Jack to be out of his pram and straight in. Everywhere else I take him, it takes a lot longer for Jack to get used to.”
"Just over the last six months there’s been a huge difference in Jack, his communication, his socialising, his interaction, even with his speaking and how he plays with toys. Everything."
Janine added: “He’s so much better out and about, on the metro and the busses, in shops, and I think it’s to do with the group and the way people interact with him there.”
Small group sizes meant Janine and Jack were both able to benefit from focused support from NEAS Family Worker Lauren, who runs the group.
Janine said: “I was speaking to Lauren because Jack’s under a speech therapist, I said she was implementing visual cards, and Lauren said send them over to me via email.
“She printed them off for us, laminated them, and put them on a little keyring, and using these cards is preventing Jack’s meltdowns.”
The groups have also given Janine a place to connect with other parents, after she initially felt isolated from friends and family who had children at the same time.
Janine said: “I would never go out much with Jack. I would feel like I couldn’t with the judgement.”
"But now that I’ve got the group with others, it feels like a little family. Everyone’s on the same wavelength."
“It’s not just a Friday afternoon. We’ve all swapped numbers and especially in the summer holidays, when the kids aren’t in nurseries or schools, we’ll meet up in a park. It’s something we can all do.
“We’ve got a lovely little support network from the group who we’re still in touch with.”
Janine added: “I’d recommend the group to anybody. It really is life-changing.”
