A mother has praised a Colchester autism charity for "transforming" her family's life.
The mother of nine-year-old Lennon-Rose said Autism Anglia's diagnosis helped her daughter understand her behaviour and struggles.
The charity provides autism and ADHD assessments for children and adults across Essex, Suffolk, and Norfolk, and is now expanding its services.
Leanne, Lennon's mother, said: "The support from Autism Anglia has transformed all our lives.
"The moment they contacted us was the first time we felt someone had really noticed us and wanted to help.
"We now know why Lennon behaves the way she does.
"It’s helped her understand why she struggles sometimes when other children don’t.
"Thanks to Autism Anglia’s help, we’re optimistic about the future and feel much better placed to support Lennon, and each other.
"But most of all, we don’t feel invisible anymore."
Autism Anglia has recently expanded and relaunched its gold-standard diagnosis service which includes an assessment from speech and language therapists and clinical psychologists, alongside in-depth, in-person interviews.
This expansion follows new NHS data which reveals a 25 per cent increase in the autism assessment waiting list, with 204,876 people waiting for a diagnosis in September.
Jenny Jackson, diagnostic service manager at Autism Anglia, said: "We see our role as working alongside the NHS to reduce waiting times for assessment and have shared some of our ways of working with them to help reduce the backlog.
"We are here to help people – families like Leanne’s – to get a quick, early diagnosis and to be able to access the support they need.
"Early intervention is crucial because it helps reduce any possible distress for the child or adult and allows us to develop strategies tailored for their needs.
"You may have a child that is feeling different from their peers but don’t feel it is being acknowledged or understood.
"The assessment is partly an education for everyone involved – we like to think families learn a lot more about autism and ADHD going through the process with us.
"We give them the listening ear they’ve always wanted."
For more information on Autism Anglia and its diagnosis services, visit autism-anglia.org.uk.
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