Founder and Support Lead – Leanne Jaques
Leanne lives in Yorkshire with her family. She has over 20 years teaching experience in Nursery, Primary, Montessori and Specialist Provision. Having thought that following her youngest daughter’s diagnosis it would unlock doors to support, understanding and an educational setting she could thrive in, it quickly became clear that that wasn’t to be the case.
Her eyes have certainly been opened to the battles that families have to endure in an attempt to be listened to and believed and the hurdles needed to be jumped to secure SEN support or furthermore, an EHC assessment, plan and appropriate setting.
Leanne had thought many times over to document their journey and ‘Lockdown’ March 2020 gave her the opportunity to begin. Her youngest daughter was diagnosed in April 2019 as Autistic with a profile of PDA – Pathological Demand Avoidance. Having navigated the treacherous pathways of SEND support herself, she has gone on to set up a highly demanded support and advocacy service to empower other families using her knowledge, skills, passion and lived experience because every child and young person is entitled to an Education that meets their needs.
PDA SEND Advocate & Trainer – Jenny Pash
Jenny lives in Yorkshire with her husband and two children, both of whom are autistic with a PDA (Pathological Demand Avoidance) profile. Life was going relatively smoothly until the return to ‘normal’ after the Covid lockdowns, when both children (who were undiagnosed at the time) began to struggle with school attendance and eventually became unable to attend.
The advice offered by schools and professionals often made things worse, leaving Jenny feeling lost and isolated—until she connected with other parents and autistic adults with lived experience. Through those conversations, she learned about PDA and began parenting in a completely different way.
What began as a lonely and confusing time has grown into a supportive community of understanding families. Drawing on over ten years of experience working across various departments of the NHS, Jenny is passionate about using her professional background and lived experience to empower and support other families through The Lightbulb Moment PDA CIC. She is delighted to be part of a team that helps families find their own lightbulb moments.
PDA SEND Advocate – Lindsay Clarkson
Lindsay lives in Yorkshire with her family and is the mother of four children, three of whom have special educational needs (SEN), including two who are diagnosed autistic. She has worked tirelessly to secure the necessary support for all three children, navigating a challenging and often overwhelming process. Through this journey she has gained valuable lived experience. Lindsay has had to apply for Education, Health and Care Plans (EHCPs) and fight to get her children placed in the right educational settings. Due to her children missing long periods of schooling, her ability to work has been impacted. The core focus became her children’s mental health, as they struggled to cope with the demands of school life.
Although her son was not diagnosed with Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA), Lindsay recognised the profile of this condition through the difficulties her son experienced. He was unable to attend school and the daily demands of getting up and eating meals started to impact his life. It wasn’t until Lindsay removed some of the daily demands that she began to see a difference in her son’s life.
During this time, Lindsay felt lost and had to take on these challenges alone, trying to piece together the puzzle and learning along the way. She is now keen to support other families so they do not have to experience the same isolation and wants to provide them with a place to turn to, so they don’t feel alone.
PDA Training Content & Materials Producer – Robin
Robin lives in Yorkshire with her husband and their two wonderful and highly creative neurodiverse young children, who have both been abysmally let down and damaged by our education system.
Since clearing the decks and abandoning her career in 2019 to secure an EHCP (which she thought might take a few months – but took many years), Robin has managed the devastation of supporting both of her traumatised children through long periods of having no school placements. Taking on numerous legal battles single-handedly, she has secured EHCPs, school placements and alternative provisions, challenged numerous unjust procedures through complaints and Ombudsman processes and fought relentlessly for the best available outcomes for her children. She has suffered systems-generated trauma and been almost beaten into submission, by those who were supposed to be helping her family, but has surprised herself by coming back stronger each time.
Robin is now a home educator and powerful SEND advocate, studying SEND law. She also writes blogs, training and guidance to support others through their difficult journeys and is fully committed to fighting for justice for disadvantaged young people.