Hello from the Lighthouse Group

Hi - my name is Joanna Francis. I work as a Psychologist in the NHS and run Parent Groups for families who are looking for support in managing their children’s behaviour. It was out of one of these groups that a support group evolved. The parents had gained a great deal from meeting each other. Several had youngsters who already had the diagnosis of ADHD and felt they had a lot in common.

We started holding regular meetings with invited speakers, organising events across the patch, networking, and aiming to raise awareness about ADHD not only among health practitioners, but within schools.

Out of a competition designed for the youngsters, we chose the name ‘Lighthouse Group’ to represent us. We just liked the sense of hope and support it engendered.

Over the years, we seemed to be stalling and we wondered how to make the group more vibrant and inviting. At this point, one of the mothers suggested we try organising more fun events to include the youngsters as well and this proved popular.

Meanwhile, a retired lady started to help us with our regular newsletter. She was eager to use all her experience in desktop publishing to improve our image, and matters went swimmingly until she started suggesting her son-in-law could help us design our very own website. We had already produced a leaflet about ADHD and where to get support and this became the core of the website. There would also be the option of seeing past copies of the newsletters and a blog page. We were so delighted when it finally materialised! Now we can be found on www.lighthousegroup.org.uk

There has always been a core group of loyal parents holding responsibility for keeping the group going, but they felt fairly worn down, on top of the daily problems associated with living with ADHD, with seemingly no acknowledgement from outside bodies of the value of what we were providing. However, all that changed when we applied for ‘Pitch Your Project! The panel members listened intently to the experiences of the two parents involved. They nodded repeatedly when we described what we could offer if we had more volunteers and funding. They even asked if other parents from outside the area could join us! This made us feel appreciated and revitalised. We felt we would get advice and additional support to lift us all to the next level.

It was a daunting day, but certainly worth the effort. Since hearing that we won we have gained confidence in our ability to fulfil our aims of becoming an even more supportive group and benefit more families, such as providing a helpline and improving our lending resources of books and games.

We expect to chart our growth over the next year. So ……….. ‘Watch this space!’

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