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'I have just had a consultation/dialogue with Alan about my lack of confidence when giving feedback. I received not just concrete ideas which I could put into action ..Alan encouraged me to see myself as an eagle rather than a lame duck! Seriously I had never spoken to Alan before but I felt such warmth, acceptance and love from him that I felt so free to simply be me. I never felt judged or that Alan assumed my answers and therefore felt free to express and explore my feelings. What a gift! From just one consultation/dialogue I felt so much more confident. If you want to have complete love and acceptance coupled with concrete practical ideas for your child you need look no further than this wonderful family on your doorstep- Alan & Helen. Personally I would, after two years directing a Son-Rise programme recommend that you at least explore what they have to offer' [Laura]
'Alan is that rare person you can say truly cares. It is not a strategy or technique that he uses to gain your trust, it is genuinely in him. When you couple that with his knowledge you have a powerful force' [Cary]
'From the moment that we linked in with you there was such warmth an enormous understanding of our situation. Your years of experience of running your programme shines through and can offer so much. We have received amazing help so far and we have only known you for such a little time. We are excited about your involvement in our programme, this has given us so much confidence. The personal touch is a wonderful attribute to add to your professional qualities.' [Linda]
'My LEA has finally awarded us financial assistance. I am happy, thoroughly relieved and enormously grateful for their support. But nothing compares to the gratitude and immense appreciation that I feel towards you for all the help in enabling us to get to this exciting stage… Your advice was not only accurate and well informed but your understanding and warmth were great comfort when things were not always moving in the direction we expected' [Zen]
'As a sufferer of severe depression, I found that talking about my problems to Alan proved not only helpful but also uplifting. Alan is both understanding and encouraging. He doesn't make any kind of judgement about a person and listens rather than advises. Through quite a few sessions talking to Alan, he has made me see myself as a better person, to feel much better about my life and to cope with my problems in a way that in the beginning seemed as if there was no end to'. [Tracey]
'we have learned so much in such a small time, not only how to help Greg and people like Greg but about ourselves. Our outlook and attitude to life and what we do at work has definitely changed' [Peter, Social Services sessional worker]
Tuesday, 24 April2001
'I was so relieved to find Alan. I am a professional working exclusively for one family, managing and directing the Son-Rise Program that they run for their daughter (Let's call her Anne). Anne is autistic and therefore manifests learning difficulties related to her autism. Anne's statement had lapsed and we decided to get her re-statemented with the intention of applying for funding to help meet some of the costs of running her program.
All went well until we recognised that we were going to have to go to the SEN Tribunal to present our case for funding our home based program as opposed to sending Anne to the placement indicated by the LEA which we feel is totally inappropriate for her needs. Once I realised not just the quantity but primarily the quality of the documents we would need to produce to support our case to the extent that we had any chance of winning (Most LEA's use education law to win Tribunal cases by tripping up the parents unaware of the intricacies of the law) I realised I was going to need assistance. Fortunately Alan was recommended to me by a trusted friend. I rang him and was impressed by his friendly manner and passionate attitude. It felt like the cavalry had arrived!
Alan asked me a great deal of detailed questions and then said yes he could help me. Over the last six weeks or so he has read, digested and assimilated ALL the existing documentation relating to Anne (who is eleven this year, so there is a great deal of it!). Using that information and his tremendous knowledge of education law, experience of children with special needs and the Tribunal system he has created a number of extremely professional, persuasive documents setting out our case in a clear, concise and powerful way. He has been so thorough in his research that I almost felt like he knew Anne better than I did after working with her for I8 months! I believe that Alan's work has provided us with a very good chance of winning our case (and some funding) against the LEA and their recommended placement for Anne.
All through the, ongoing, process Alan has demonstrated great motivation. He has been extremely flexible in both what he has done (created documents, edited videos and provided inspiration, support and encouragement) and, when he has done it. Time was short for us and Alan unarguingly worked late into the evening and at weekends to meet our deadline. Although I do not recommend this I was impressed that he went the distance for us. His attitude was wonderful and he communicated excellently returning my frequent, often panicky, phone calls and keeping me up to date with his progress the costs (very important!). Whilst I am talking of cost I was pleased that Alan did not take advantage of our situation by charging us ridiculously high fees like some individuals and organisations do.
To date we have yet to go to Tribunal but I am so impressed with Alan's boundless energy, enthusiasm, attitude, knowledge and experience that regardless of the outcome I know I will be using his services again to support our programme and help us to create new directions and new ways to inspire Anne's growth and progress.
I can wholeheartedly recommend Alan and the service he offers as being first rate in his field of experience.
Gavin Burke, Son-Rise Programme Director (p.s. I was not asked to write this, in fact it was my idea)'
[Gavin, and Anne's family, did go on to win their case and secure funding]
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