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Posted on 14 May 2024

For Mental Health Awareness Week we spoke to Emna, whose son Leo has received fantastic support from Nottinghamshire Healthcare’s CAMHS service, which she described as ‘life changing’.

“Leo first started having some issues when he was in year two (age 6), just before covid and lockdown. He started really struggling and having panic attacks and not wanting to go to school.  Leo first got referred for tests to check there was nothing physically wrong, but they couldn’t get to the bottom of things. Whilst going through this, Leo was diagnosed as having dyspraxia and having sensory processing issues.  Dyspraxia is a common disorder that affects movement and co-ordination. People with dyspraxia can also struggle with emotions.

Leo couldn’t use cutlery or a pen properly, and it was taking him such a lot of effort to do things. This was leading to him getting frustrated and tired. It was taking Leo a lot of effort to write at school and to fasten his clothes and shoes, and this was also leading to low self-esteem.

“When lockdown happened, Leo found that difficult and he became more withdrawn and wouldn’t come out of his bedroom. Leo didn’t want to go out, he wanted to spend more and more time alone. We were ever so worried about Leo.

“Leo was eventually referred to the CAMHS team, which is where we got to know Andy Dobb, Family Support Worker and Jill Baxter, Family Support Worker, who were both amazing. 

“Andy treated us with such kindness, compassion and respect from our very first meeting.  He immediately put Leo at ease and created a safe space for Leo to talk about how he was feeling.  Andy has a wonderful manner and a calm voice. Andy is very kind and professional, with a great sense of fun. He is obviously very passionate about his work and is dedicated to helping others. He was a breath of fresh air, and we are so lucky he came into our lives.

“We immediately warmed to both Andy and Jill, as they are such kind people. They are really good at speaking to young people, parents and carers, and they listen without judgement. Andy doesn’t take himself too seriously, he can have a laugh, when appropriate, which really helps sometimes.

Read the full story on the Trust blog.