Parenting Special Children’s mission is to provide specialist parenting support to parents and carers of children and young people with Special Needs, so that they can create positive change in their lives. The charity was founded in 2006 by Ruth Pearse, our CEO, to meet an unmet need that she had identified, whilst receiving a diagnosis for her daughter. At that time, there was a lack of support for families at diagnosis and very few specialist parenting programmes that families could access which would help them learn more about the diagnosis that their child or young person had received and to meet other families in a similar situation. What is unique about PSC, and important to the families who receive our services, is that all the staff, trustees and volunteers are parent/carers of children or young people with special needs. All the facilitators of our services have a professional background which enables the charity to deliver a professional service, and this is valued by families and health, social care and education professionals who refer families to the charity.