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CLAIRE LEWIS BELIEVES SHE HAS 'CHANGED HER LIFE' 16:24, 03 Jun 2025Updated 17:23, 03 Jun 2025 A mum transformed her life after what she saw her son go through. Claire Lewis, 40,

from Tuebrook, is a busy mum with three children, Holly, Frankie and Lee, who is 15. It was around 10 years ago when she noticed Lee was falling behind in school and started wondering why.

It transpired Lee had autism. The experience of getting Lee’s diagnosis transformed Claire’s life. She left school without any GCSEs but returned to education in her 30s to learn more about

neurodiversity and is now an assistant research psychologist at an ADHD charity. Speaking to the ECHO about what symptoms Lee was experiencing, Claire said: “Hyperactivity was the main one.

He was quite behind in school and it wasn't to do with his intellect, it was more to do with the fact he literally couldn't keep still long enough to get the thoughts out of his

head and down onto paper.” According to the NHS, symptoms of ADHD usually start before the age of 12. They involve a person’s ability to pay attention to things (being inattentive), having

high energy levels (being hyperactive) and their ability to control their impulses (being impulsive). Although Claire praised the clinician who diagnosed him, she felt in follow-up

appointments that other medical professionals spoke as though the condition was down to her bad parenting. Article continues below Claire said: “It was insinuated that Lee's condition

was an outcome of parenting skills. I was very well aware that it was being inferred that my parenting skills that were being questioned. “But prior to this, I had started reading medical

journals. I just wanted to understand my son's condition as best as possible and I just wanted to help him. So at this stage, I knew enough to know it was actually a neurological

condition and not a result of my parenting.” The NHS says that it is not clear what causes autism but “bad parenting” is definitely not one of them. The process motivated Claire to help

others going through the process of an ADHD diagnosis, even though it felt daunting to re-enter education to get the GCSEs she needed. She said: “It struck a nerve to the point where it

ignited me to want to know more. It led me down a larger path of research. Looking back I realised the reason I had no GCSEs was probably because of my own neurodiversity. I knew it was a

mammoth task ahead of me. “I always knew that I had a good brain. I spent my whole twenties kicking myself, watching people my age who I'd gone to school with going on to get really

good jobs and doing degrees. “I felt like life had passed me by a little bit, but I always held out a little bit of hope that one day I would be able to catch up. Although it was a very

daunting task ahead of me, I didn't feel like it was completely out of my reach as long as I could be consistent.” Claire completed her GCSEs and an access to higher education course at

the City of Liverpool College. She’s since done a Bachelors degree at the University of Liverpool and a Masters at Edge Hill University. Claire is now an assistant research psychologist

with the ADHD Foundation, a job she relishes. She does not have a formal diagnosis of autism but recognises she has many symptoms herself. Claire said: “It’s extremely fulfilling. Obviously

a lot of my personal experience goes into my job because I've been on the other side of the table. “I know how it feels for the parents and for people to going through these processes

because I've been through it myself with two of my children. "The ADHD Foundation has always been my point of call really for information and resources. My ideal job was to work at

the ADHD Foundation as a psychologist. "That was like the dream goal and now I do, I'm extremely proud to work for such an amazing organisation that changes the lives of so many

people. Looking back, Claire is grateful that she got the opportunity to study again at the college and feels she has transformed her fortunes in the space of ten years. She said: “I feel

proud of myself. I've changed my own life. I've changed my children's life. My youngest son wants to study psychology. They've all got a really good work ethic.

“They've seen mum put the work in over the years and that's now become the norm to them. There's a little bit of imposter syndrome for me because I was late doing my degree

and I was a single mum on benefits for a long time, but it's such a nice feeling to think I've put that work in to get to where I wanted to be. “There'll be people out there,

there'll be single mums out there, single dads, or just anyone in general who might think it's too late to get into education. They might think they've got too many challenges

to get into education and chase dreams that they've had. But if I can do it with kids, anxieties and covid happening in the middle of it, anyone can do it.” Article continues below