Jessica suffered with autism and her parents could not understand why she expressed her resentment during meal times and refused her food.  This caused a great deal of worry and frustration for her parents.  She discussed the situation to a representative from JAFFA who had personal experience of a similar situation and explained that often autistic people prefer certain colours in their food.  With her parents following the advice of JAFFA, Jessica happily returned to a healthy diet relieving her parents of worry.

Joseph was sad to find he could not go on a school trip with his friends as the school felt it did not have the resources and teachers did not have sufficient training to confidently deal with his autism.

In another case, Henry, who had also been diagnosed with autism, was attending a mainstream school where staff had not received training to deal with his disability.  Often teachers misinterpreted his ways of expressing himself as bad behaviour which resulted in his removal from the school.

JAFFA listened to the concerns of parents, made them aware of policies such as Every Child Matters that show schools have a duty of care, and discussed the issue with school staff.  After intervention Henry was reinstated in a school where teachers were more able to recognise and deal with Henry’s symptoms while Joseph was able to attend later school events.

(Some names have been changed)