London | New York | Vancouver Island | China
An independent co-educational day school for students with high functioning autism, Asperger's Syndrome, language, communication and social pragmatic difficulties and those associated with specific learning difficulties.
Jacqui Penny
Fri 3rd June 2011
Position:
Parent Liason
Email:
jpenny@thsl.org.uk
As the mother of a child with high-functioning autism (Asperger’s and ADD), I am very pleased to be working with The Holmewood School as the Marketing and Parent Liaison Advisor.
I have a background in science, and built a career in sales and marketing in the biotech industry. I gave up my last role as Marketing Director at Amgen Inc. shortly after my son was diagnosed, in order to research autism and its treatment and to try and do as much as I could for him in the early years. In 2007 I joined an autism charity (PEACH, Parents for the Early Intervention of Autism in Children) as a Trustee. I have been involved in fundraising and in helping the charity develop.
At Holmewood I work with the school to ensure that its services meet the specific, individual needs of high-functioning children on the autistic spectrum. I have instigated the development of Holmewood’s sensory integration clinic, in collaboration with Harley Street specialist Dr. Dimitrios Mylonadis, and will instigate further collaborations with autism specialists in the areas of biomedical, behavioural, and auditory processing, and other cutting-edge services.
As Parent Liaison Advisor, I am here to help parents. I know how different, difficult and exhausting it can be to bring up a child with autism, as well as the strain it can put on family relationships. I can advise on treatments that might help, put parents in contact with relevant specialists and support groups or assist parents through the SEN process (to gain a statement of special needs). I will organise parent events at Holmewood and ensure that parents’ views and needs are taken into account.
It is a privilege to be working with a school whose ethos is to meet the needs of each individual child, through addressing not only their academic, social and emotional learning, but also their sensory, biomedical and other autism-specific needs. An outward-looking school dedicated to innovation can enable children to truly fulfil their potential.
