Author of Not Stupid: The Inspiring True Story of One Mother's Fight to Give Her Autistic Children the Quality of Life They Deserve
From 12.00 noon BST
At Goldster Book Club
When Anna and Sean Kennedy discovered that one of their sons had Asperger's syndrome and that their other son was Autistic, they were truly devastated. But their family's troubles were just the beginning. When searching to the right schools for their boys, they were turned down from twenty-six educational institutions which supposedly focused on special needs. So, with sheer grit and determination, they started their own, a centre of excellence for those with autism to prove that children like Patrick and Angelo and were not stupid and their lives did not have to have to echo with struggle and defeat. Nearly three million in Britain have a family member affected by autism and it is little wonder that their school quickly became over-subscribed. Anna’s story is one about not-giving up, however tough, however impossible, however drained you might feel.
She told it in her incredibly moving book Not Stupid: The Inspiring True Story of One Mother's Fight to Give Her Autistic Children the Quality of Life They Deserve. She has been awarded the OBE for her charity work, is a compelling voice laying out the roller coaster of emotions that accompany having a loved one with autism while offering a real sense of hope, fulfilment and happiness. Humphrey met Anna more than twenty years go to film a documentary for the BBC. He now brings her in Inside Story to ask how the autism and special needs environment has changed in Britain and to ask her about one of latest projects – a roadshow called Autism’s Got Talent.