Alea Jannath

I am a mother of a child with complex needs, my daughter is 12 years old and we live in Tower Hamlets. When my daughter was younger, I trained to be a befriender through SCOPE charity. This helped me to share my journey with other parents, carers and professionals and was a starting point for me wanting to help others.

I have presented at a few conferences at Mile End Hospital and the British Library on ‘Learning through doing’. One was the Royal College of Occupational Therapist’s Children and Young People Specialist Section conference. Because mine is a lived experience, it comes from the heart and that is very powerful.

I learnt about Person-Centred Active Support (PCAS) when I was invited to attend a workshop. PCAS means for me and my family that my child with a disability can do things that are part of everyday life. I’ve been Co-trained to deliver PCAS, which was a new experience that I really enjoyed, I felt connected to other parents because I am coming from a parents point of view.