The Autism Renaissance: A Journey with thousands of Autistic Souls

By Dr. Alptekin Aydin

Dr. Alptekin Aydin’s® QPAN® (QEEG-Guided Personalized AI-Based Neuromodulation) model combines neuroscience and AI to design personalized treatments for autistic people. It maps qEEG brain patterns to produce custom neuromodulation therapies for cognition, emotional stability and behaviour improvement. With science and empathy at its centre, this therapy points to the strengths of each individual and addresses difficulties, complementing conventional treatment with modern knowledge.
Inspiring children such as James, Michael and Tim are featured in the book. James was much more energised by tackling hyperarousal, Michael achieved extraordinary social and academic improvements, and Tim’s development in four sessions is proof positive of the transforming effects of personalised care.
Above these personal accounts, the book also addresses institutional barriers in education and healthcare to support free, radical cures for all. Science-based, hopeful and inclusive, it has practical resources and new ways of thinking for parents, teachers and professionals. With neurodiversity, Dr. Aydin dreams of a world where each child’s uniqueness is valued, a world in which every child’s potential is fostered.
It’s an inspiring, hopeful read that asks us to do things differently for autism, and is an inspiration for everyone involved in neurodiverse lives.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse UK
• Release date: Feb 18, 2025
• ISBN: 9798823091442

Dr. Alptekin Aydin

Specialist Neuropsychologist Dr. Alptekin Aydin BA (Hons) - MSc - GMBPsS - PhD (DClinPsy) (CUBS) Expert Witness for Civil Law Certified TMS Practitioner - QEEG & Advanced EEG Interpretation Certificate Dr. Alptekin Aydin was born in 1973 in Moda, Istanbul. After graduating with First-Class Honours (1st) from the Department of Psychology at Istanbul University, he completed his internship in Psychology and Philosophy Teaching Formation at Galatasaray High School. His early research focused on identifying and correctly diagnosing differences among autism, learning difficulties, and ADHD in children, as well as addressing school adaptation issues. As a Specialist Neuropsychologist and a Certified TMS Practitioner, Dr. Aydin has a deep interest in Neuromodulation Interventions. He earned his postgraduate Master’s degree in Psychology from the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN) at King’s College London, where he trained in Neurological and Pharmacological Substance Addiction. His qualifications have been recognized with an equivalence certificate from the Higher Education Council Recognition and Equivalency Services Department in Turkey. Additionally, he completed his doctorate (DClinPsy) in Clinical Psychology and Neuroscience in the United States, where he published a study on the impact of tDCS Treatment Over the Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex (DLPFC) on Social Communication in Children with ASD: A Survey of Family Experiences. Dr. Aydin further expanded his expertise by completing the International Clinical TMS Certification program at Maastricht University (UM), one of the most prestigious institutions in the Netherlands. This course, accredited by the European Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (EACCME), reinforced his skills as a Certified Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) and tDCS practitioner. In June 2014, he participated in the Greenwich Beresford project, a collaboration between the UK Department of Health and King’s College University. In 2015, he supported numerous individuals struggling with Gambling Addiction using Cognitive Behavioral Therapy through Redcard Gambling. His expertise was also sought by several municipalities, including Harringay, Hackney, and Enfield. Additionally, he pursued training in Mora Bioresonance (Quantum frequency technology) therapy for smoking, alcohol, and substance addiction. As a certified Bioresonance Practitioner, he successfully treated over 3,000 adults using a combination of Neuromodulation TMS, Quantum Frequency therapy, and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. In 2018, Dr. Aydin pioneered a groundbreaking scientific method known as “QPAN” (QEEG-guided Personalized AI-based Neuromodulation Therapy). This advanced therapeutic system integrates TMS and tDCS neuromodulation treatment to support individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder, Learning Difficulties, Epilepsy, and ADHD, enhancing brain function and overall well-being. Developed and registered by Dr. Aydin, QPAN has been successfully implemented in over 5,000 individuals, achieving a success rate of 70-85%. The method utilizes QEEG brain scan technology, AI-driven holistic brain function mapping, and comprehensive neuromodulation protocols integrated with therapy, education, sports, and nutrition programs, ensuring personalized care for each patient. Beyond his clinical work, Dr. Aydin is the founder and administrator of a private Facebook group with over 8,800 active families worldwide. This platform serves as a support network for families undergoing treatment, allowing them to share their experiences and insights. In 2022, he obtained an Expert Witness for Civil Law certification from the Cardiff School of Law and Politics (North Road) in the UK, in collaboration with Bond Solon. As a Specialist Neuropsychologist and expert witness, he prepares reports based on QEEG (Quantitative Electroencephalogram) functional brain mapping, grounded in biological markers. These reports are submitted to courts and institutions such as the Home Office and local municipalities, providing crucial insights into individuals’ psychological conditions and challenges. In 2022-2023, Dr. Aydin further honed his expertise by obtaining certifications in QEEG Reporting and Program Use in Florida, USA, along with an Advanced EEG Reading and Interpretation Certificate. During this time, he reviewed and interpreted thousands of EEGs and QEEG reports, reinforcing his knowledge in brain function analysis. Dr. Aydin is the founder and principal partner of Cosmos Healthcare Ltd, the largest Neuromodulation TMS and tDCS clinic in Enfield, England. His clinic offers specialized treatments for Autism Spectrum Disorders, Learning Difficulties, Epilepsy, ADHD, Anxiety, Depression, OCD, Neurological Pain, Stroke, and Substance Addiction. Additionally, he serves as the Chairman of the Board of Cosmos Istanbul, a worldwide call center dedicated to remote headset treatment. This center provides innovative neuromodulation support to individuals globally, ensuring that patients have access to cutting-edge solutions regardless of their location. His contributions to the fields of neuropsychology and neuromodulation continue to influence thousands of individuals worldwide, enhancing their quality of life through innovative and scientifically-backed therapeutic interventions.

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© 2025 Dr. Alptekin Aydin. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Published by AuthorHouse   02/11/2025

ISBN: 979-8-8230-9145-9 (sc)

ISBN: 979-8-8230-9146-6 (hc)

ISBN: 979-8-8230-9144-2 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2025900718

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

CONTENTS

Author’s Note

Acknowledgements

Introduction

Chapter 1 Finding Souls

1.1 Behind the Diagnosis

Autism under neurological lens: Complexities and pitfalls

1.2 Strain and Survival

Stories, misdiagnosis, stigma, and the power of resilience

1.3 The Natural Brain

Autism and the brain

Chapter 2 Exploring Brain Frontiers

2.1 From Shadows to Strengths

Discovering personalised neuromodulation QPAN

2.2 Mapping Potential

Power of qEEG, unseen neurological landscapes

2.3 The Science of Neuroplasticity

Endless possibilities of brain’s capacity

Chapter 3 The QPAN Revolution

3.1 Decoding the Brain’s Enigma

Rewiring minds with neuromodulation

3.2 Crafting the Future with AI

The genesis of QPAN, a neurodevelopmental milestone

3.3 Redefining Progress

Redefining success: personalised over traditional

Chapter 4 The Path Forward

4.1 Love through the Labyrinth

Tales of love and perseverance

4.2 Real-Life Narratives

Transformative tales: The power of tailored care

4.3 True Breakthroughs

Tailored transformation

Chapter 5 The World beyond Stigma

5.1 Neurodiversity in Perspective

Challenging the deficit model and celebrating cognitive diversity

5.2 A New Era for Educators and Policymakers

Integrating neurodiversity into education

5.3 Struggles and Dilemmas

Imagining a society that embraces neurodiversity as a strength

Chapter 6 The Path Forward

6.1 Building the Bridge

Together we can: A call to action for all advocates

6.2 Who Will We Be?

Imagining a society that embraces neurodiversity as a strength

6.3 Hope and Humanity

How science and compassion can redefine futures

Safeguards and Stories

References

Glossary

About the Author

Author’s Note

Starting my neuropsychologist career I didn’t know how working with thousands of children and their families would influence me. My experience with autistic children and families has taught me as much as any scientific finding can: to be patient, to be open to acceptance, to relish the opportunity to truly listen to the people we are trying to support. The unique qualities of each child I have worked with have demonstrated to me the extraordinary strength found in neurodiversity.

This book is a result of those experiences a testament to the remarkable individuality of autistic people, and to the inventive potential of science and humankind. I am the inventor of QPAN (qEEG-guided Personalised AI-Based Neuromodulation), and I’ve seen the promise of tailored, science-based therapies. With brain mapping, neuromodulation, and individualised care, QPAN works to discover and support every child’s cognitive, emotional, and behavioural strengths, while focusing on what is possible in addition to overcoming barriers.

Disclaimer: The QPAN model and related interventions are meant to facilitate growth, and the results will vary depending on the individual neurological profiles, protocol adherence, and other considerations. These strategies are based on research and should be seen as part of a holistic plan of care.

In my own work, I’ve found that there’s immense value in marrying advanced neuroscience with compassion. I wish that this book can offer strategies and new perspectives for parents, teachers, and caregivers, a lens that celebrates the strengths and potential in each child. Bringing neuroscience and neurodiversity together means designing systems that will help all children flourish in their own special ways.

Let me challenge you to think differently about how we help each child to realise their boundless potential. Let’s work together to create an inclusive future where everyone’s uniqueness is valued and respected.

Acknowledgements

This book has been a very personal process, forged with the support, motivation, wisdom, and courage of countless people and organisations who have provided inspiration and direction every page of it. It’s not merely a professional acknowledgement; it’s a kind of profound thanks to all who believed in the power of insight, innovation, and compassion.

To my beloved mother, may you rest in peace. Each page of this book holds a fragment of you because your love and belief gave me the strength to dream and power to make my dreams real. I stand today because of your limitless kindness together with your wisdom that served as a guiding star and your silent sacrifices which formed my foundation. Your absence from my side does not diminish your influence because I sense your presence whenever I achieve success and discover new lessons. This book belongs to both of us because it honors the heart which nurtured my own. Your memory surpasses description yet your essence remains a part of my actions.

To my wife, partner, and life force, Funda Aydin: you have been my torch that has illuminated every dream I’ve wished to follow. You’ve been a watchful eye, creative genius, and the will to make our vision a reality, overcoming obstacles and accomplishing success on our own terms and in developing our clinic. I have your partnership on the business side and on my personal side, and you are giving families that opportunity to get a second chance.

To my best friend and the guru of our AI research and development group, Bogac Gurgun: I can’t express how grateful I am for your creativity and hard work. The Neuromap algorithm you helped to develop not only changed the way we think and treat neurodevelopmental disorders, but it also saved lives we would never have imagined. Your friendship has been decades long, a source of courage, laughter, and mutual vision.

To the families who entrusted us with their stories: The brave stories shared by these families became our primary lessons and renewed our commitment to our foundational mission.

To the scientists, clinicians, and educators whose work underpins these findings: Your groundbreaking work and enthusiastic spirit as scientists, clinicians, and educators lead to ongoing life transformations.

The editors, tech staff and publishing teams who remain unsung heroes deserve our gratitude because your dedication and precision brought this book to life.

The book demonstrates how people together with scientific efforts and collective goals can achieve remarkable results. I extend my deepest gratitude to everyone who supported us, whether their contribution was large or small. May this work become a beacon of hope and transformation in areas that require it most.

Introduction

A glimpse into the hidden

realms of neurodiversity

When a child is born with autism, the family’s world is turned upside down. Questions arise faster than answers. Will they speak? Will they learn? Will they be able to stand on their own feet? Who will understand and care for our child when we’re gone? Those are the questions that pound my clinic walls each day from parents who come bearing ashes and fainting aspirations. I’ve found over the years that the children who come through our doors are not only trapped but simply waiting for us to see from their perspectives.

This is not about changing kids’ lives; it’s about changing the world they live in. I’ve worked with kids and families on neurodevelopmental puzzles such as autism, ADHD, and epilepsy for years. All 5,000 of these children and families and their experiences have shaped my life, my career, and my understanding of human endurance and collective belonging.

The book isn’t just about successes. But this book offers hope. It illustrates how science and humanity can work together to make all children flourish. It’s a call to educators, policymakers, and parents to open up to this future, a future where neurodiversity is valued and all children thrive.

QPAN (qEEG-Guided Personalised AI-Based Neuromodulation) is a neurodevelopmental intervention that combines brain mapping, AI, and neuromodulation methods to design personalised interventions. These techniques are tuned to suit each individual’s neuropsychological pattern aims to support cognitive and neurological growth through evidence-informed approaches. But as with any intervention, results will depend on the patient, and ongoing support for caregivers and clinicians is needed to ensure the best outcome.

It’s about families that see the potential in their children, parents who will work so hard to help them succeed, and children who, when loved, will prove again and again that they are so much more than what society might tell them. Effective care extends beyond medical or technological solutions; it involves embracing and supporting every child’s unique potential. By fostering a nurturing environment, we empower children to thrive, emphasising their individuality and capacity for connection.

Chapter 1

Finding Souls

I t was the hottest day in London since the arrest of the legendary gangster Al Capone in 1929. A daily high temperature of 21.2°C in London on 26 February 2019 (a day only one London winter can afford) left me wishing I’d been at Kew Gardens with Funda, rather than at the clinic now. More than a wife, Funda is my inspiration, my guide, and my steady hand. Her unwavering support, wisdom, and trust laid the foundation of this clinic. She brought not only belief in me but also her own insight and intuition gifts I never knew I needed until she shared them.

The clinic phone rang, knocking me from my ‘Kew Gardens with Funda’ dream. Daisy, my receptionist, responded with typical energy. She’s glittering and emphatic with patients, forever bright eyed, always positive with a youthful exuberance in a passionate world. She’s always on the move, shifting between tasks, lighting up our clinic with a passion that’s infectious.

It seemed from her laughter that this wasn’t a patient, but someone we know closely. It was, of course, Dr Henry, an Oxford colleague and friend of mine. Dr Henry and I had both worked in a private practice years earlier. Upon meeting him, I was immediately impressed with his combination of skills. He had originally worked as a software development engineer in test (SDET), but then transitioned to a speech and language therapist (SLT). He went on to earn a PhD in Interprofessional Collaborative Practice (IPCP) and Interprofessional Education (IPE) in Health and Social Care.

Dr Henry is as frank and approachable as he is brilliant. We are both passionate about healthcare innovation and envision how AI/ML could enable treatments to become more dynamic and individualised. When I talk to Dr Henry, I feel like we have the same vision, which would just keep pushing the boundaries of our discipline. He will be part of our journey, a colleague in the development of our work, and Funda’s foresight has helped me see that. He was referring a patient over the phone and giving their details, so we will call them to book an appointment.

Next morning, a kind of silent pressure came over the clinic, a feeling that weighed down the waiting room like an enveloping, unseen burden. Olivia and Jeremy sat close together, fingers clasped, but they had something between them, not necessarily a physical distance, but an injury caused by years of defiance, terror, and exhaustion. Their red-rimmed eyes bore witness to nights of sleeping through anxious dreams, days of strained discussions, and a series of specialist appointments that threw up more questions than answers. Their 12.5-year-old son, James, shivered at Olivia’s shoulder and looked around the room in the hushed anxiety of a child too familiar with clinic rooms.

For some time, they’d been seeing Dr Henry on another private clinic in London, trying to work out some of the frustrations of speech and language therapy. Dr Henry, thoughtful and empathetic, had noticed something in James that had convinced him that our clinic was capable of offering more than another round of classic therapies. Olivia and Jeremy were quick to respond when he invited them to see me. They had done everything else, so why not one more door, one more chance?

1.1 Behind the Diagnosis

Autism under neurological lens: Complexities and pitfalls

When we entered my consultation room and began to talk, it became evident how much they’d already been through. By the age of 5, James’s behaviour was becoming an increasingly serious issue for them, and with the advice of their consultant child psychiatrist, they explored medication as a treatment. Understanding James’s challenges requires a closer examination of the approaches his family and clinicians have taken to support him, including the impact of medications.

They also looked at medication as an alternative for the challenging symptoms of autism irritability and pattern-based behaviours. Such therapies were designed to help James live a more comfortable life. As with all treatments, it required frequent and careful monitoring to keep tabs on their efficacy and any adverse side effects so that James’s journey of care could remain safe and beneficial.

But after weeks of using the medication, Olivia and Jeremy began to notice troubling patterns in their son. Eight weeks into treatment, James’s appetite reportedly surged, and he gained quite a bit of weight. His body began to stumble, and he became more detached than usual. He often suffered from dry mouth, a bloated stomach, and ongoing weakness. Their once active and happy son was now spending most of the day sluggish and distracted, and the family called in their physician to review his care.

Looking for comfort, Olivia and Jeremy went back to their psychiatrist to discuss the worrying side effects they were seeing. The psychiatrist’s answer was to reduce James’s dose and eventually switch him to another medication. But with each modification, new side effects emerged, ranging from dry mouth, constipation, insomnia, irritability, and finally dyskinesia, a disorder of movement involving involuntary, jerking movements that both James and his family found unbearable.

In the process, they painstakingly researched a range of medications, tweaking and tweaking dosages in consultation with doctors to maintain a resolution of James’s symptoms without exposing him to adverse effects. It was a time of careful reflection and patience as Olivia and Jeremy struggled to create a treatment plan that would meet his demands while keeping his personality intact.

For Olivia and Jeremy, it was a moment of soul-searching and tough choices. Each new prescription came with promise and risk, demonstrating how tricky it was to know how to approach treatment for James. They were supported by friends, family, and even physicians to embrace the drugs as an integral part of treating James’s symptoms, but Olivia and Jeremy were determined to ensure that his treatment was compassionate and sensitive to him. But how do you feel about seeing your child suffer? The burden of this question stretched over Olivia and Jeremy. Their struggle was not about refusing to accept James’s neurodiversity but rather how to relieve his pain and honour his unique humanity, a fine but often harrowing balance.

Their marriage had been punctured by the stress of these seemingly interminable choices and disappointments. Olivia, torn between every choice, would often become the family researcher, skimming through articles and research, calling all the experts in her network, searching for the miracle hidden somewhere in the medical literature. Jeremy, meanwhile, remained powerless, his own anger growing with each new piece of advice that seemed to take them down the same path that was always so exhausting.

They started avoiding mentioning their son to anyone outside their circle. Friends, family members, even good-hearted strangers would provide free counsel, often suggesting that they’d not done enough or maybe James’s illness had something to do with them. They were plagued by stigmatisation, which stayed close by and in silence. They had gotten so tired that it became easier to keep the full extent of James’s struggles under wraps, to show a friendly face at family gatherings and say that everything was fine when it wasn’t.

Their emotional and financial struggles underwent both James’s treatment, worn out by a steady flow of money and resources, and by the crushing reality of their expectations. And it was ravaging everything in them, slowly eroding their bond. They were beating themselves up for insignificant squabbles, minor concerns that once would have been ignored. It was hard to make time for each other, for the rest of their family. Their common ground of shared experiences, a source of familiarity and joy, was elusive and meaningless as they faced their everyday challenges. There was little time for love, with each of them locking themselves away, trying to cope with the grief and disappointment that now dominated their days.

When they shared this journey with me, I could sense the loss, the despair that had gripped their souls. Their eyes ached for me to see them, people who had been in love with each other, who had once seemed forever united but were no longer able to sustain that feeling. They blamed themselves, each other, the physicians who had insisted on drugs. They accused the world of not providing more, of giving them a child that they couldn’t live without and then burdening that child with mountains of unthinkable choices and tragedies.

And yet despite all this weight, they had something in them, a fierce, unshakable connection that had brought them here to our clinic, searching for another way. They had not abandoned James, and they hadn’t abandoned each other. Their eyes held the faintest hope that this time, here, might bring them back the peace and the answers they’d been looking for.

Word for word, I could feel the power of their battle, the unsung sacrifice required to confront another day, another physician, another course of treatments. I knew they weren’t only asking for help with James, but for their own healing, for their marriage, for the family they had once been and always longed to be.

When they finished, I breathed in deeply, feeling the weight of their experience sink into my being. I promised them that, here, we weren’t looking for the same thing that we’d come together to find a pathway of empathy and compassion, a path that pushed back from symptoms to James as the distinct, resilient child that he was. We would work with them to achieve a process that did not erase his personality but maintained it and celebrated the life within him. And as I gazed into their dejected but hopeful eyes, I was aware that it would be not about James alone that we would work together, but rather on the family’s broken bones, rekindling the love and wisdom that brought them here and that would take them there.

As those rays of possibility flashed brightly into their eyes, there it dawned on me: this is what we were here for. This was what Funda and I had embraced in the clinic: no family, tired or broken, would have to travel down this road alone. James and his family arrived with us during one of the darkest periods in our history. It was 2019, the blasted chaos and isolation of the COVID-19 pandemic, where families, schools, and healthcare systems had reached crisis point.

The pandemic didn’t just complicate life for children such as James, who had autism; it escalated every difficulty already. His parents, Olivia and Jeremy, were equally unmistakable about the state of affairs. Schools were closed, the organised support system he had come to depend on dissolved overnight, and James suddenly lost the routines and familiarity that had remained the safe distance between him and the world. These abrupt shifts fatigued him, and he was incapable of evolving as other people might presume.

That solitude and disruption hurt James greatly. Like most autistic children, he liked the familiarity of routine, the rules that made his days go by and put him at ease. The immediate deprivation of these patterns sucked anxiety out of his system, and he crashed back, losing some of the tiny, hard earned progress he had built over the years. As his world retreated to the walls of his own home, James grew isolated. The light that had once flickered with curiosity and intrigue turned off, and Olivia and Jeremy watched in dread as their son drifted further away.

The pandemic wasn’t just crushing for James; it changed the course of families worldwide. Between these two years, autism diagnoses increased by 10 per cent between 2018 and 2020. The isolation and disruption of the pandemic had intensified symptoms, and children who could have been functioning normally were now showing greater apprehensions. Families were looking for something new and different, because they realised that the old ways of caring might not be able to handle the range of needs that had developed. This backdrop reinforced the necessity of my new model of care, one that might provide individualised, flexible, and all-encompassing cognitive, social, and emotional support therapy that can move with the child instead of locking him into strict programmes.

When James arrived with us, he was an eloquent and talkative boy whose vocabulary reflected his ability to think. He could compose sentences, phrases, even short stories. But as we talked to him, it became clear that he was speaking unconventionally. He spoke in a rhythm, a steady pulse both charming and disturbing. James didn’t respond to any of these questions, but rather he would occasionally broadcast an internal monologue, a commentary cut off from the discourse. ‘How do you feel today?’ He might respond with an irrelevant tale about a person from a favourite movie or say something he’d heard somewhere else, as though that memory, that sentence was the place where he felt at ease.

James’s words came to be like a drumbeat, unchanging and resonant. It was like he was making his own internal soundtrack, one that gave him comfort against the chaos of his world. The pattern is referred to as echolalia and is typical for autistic people. For James, these overused words felt like some kind of mastery, some way to calm himself and order his mind. Yet it also was a bulwark, a barrier that prevented him from reaching out, from hearing new words or concepts that could potentially connect him.

It was the separation between his words and his appearance that struck me. He might be in your arms, but mentally, he was far away. His eyes rarely met ours, his gaze locked inwards, like a tape recording of words you know, away from the outside world. All attempts to talk with him about his hobbies or daily affairs merely brought him further into his shell. He would sit mute and silent, his body in the room, mind apparently elsewhere.

After our first sessions, I booked a quantitative electroencephalogram (qEEG) functional brain scan to get a more detailed picture of what was happening in James’s brain. The notion of brain mapping can be intimidating, if not terrifying, for many families, but as I explained to Olivia and Jeremy, qEEG wasn’t invasive; it was a method of discovering James’s peculiar patterns, to identify how his brain was working at a basic level. The qEEG might tell us whether there were any imbalances in his brainwave patterns that might explain his difficulty with focus, speech, and processing.

qEEG measures electrical signals in the brain and plots them on a map to show us how messages flow between brain areas. The qEEG was crucial to James. We didn’t need to treat merely symptoms that might surface; we needed to get at the root of his issues.

I grabbed Olivia and Jeremy by the hand, looked them both in the eyes, and told them the most important thing I have for any family that comes through these doors: ‘We’re in this together. Charts and labels are not the only considerations. We’re going to see a chart of James’s brain, an insight into how his brain works. You’re going to learn his strengths, his challenges, his possibilities in a way no one ever did.’ There was a tear in their tired eyes, a relief that someone was finally listening. They merely nodded, grateful but reluctant, clutching on to that seed of hope I’d sown. I knew they’d begin counting down the days to our next visit, and for the first time in many years, they walked away with their heads at ease as if the weight of the unknown had been taken off, just a little.

Yet when they left, I knew that the time had flown by too quickly. I was late again. I couldn’t help it; every time a family comes in for that first appointment, I am absorbed in their narrative, in knowing everything about their experience. Not a session, it’s bringing yourself into their space, experiencing their hopes and fears and willingness to struggle for the future they feel their child deserves.

I made a hasty exit and found Funda in the corridor, holding a plate of my favourite snack and a cup of coffee, her eyes bulging with affection and frustration. She’d seen it enough, knew I’d forgotten the schedule again, but she didn’t say anything, only placed the plate in my hand with a modest smile. Her insight, her quiet care made me feel cosy and appreciated. She grounded me, reassured me that I didn’t have to rush through giving myself to each family.

1.2 Strain and Survival

Stories, misdiagnosis, stigma, and the power of resilience

And there was my second appointment of the day a mother and son who had come a little further to meet me. Sophia, the mother, was seated next to her son Tim, an 11-year-old boy with a vulnerability and ferocity that I sensed