In 2014, Dr S’s career as a GP was brought to an abrupt end following a stroke that left her with ongoing challenges in cognition and higher-level executive functioning. These challenges included fatigue, short-term memory issues, difficulty with organisation, word-finding problems, emotional lability, and an inability to multitask—barriers that impacted her daily life and professional identity.

Despite these obstacles, Dr S demonstrated remarkable resilience. When her youngest son began to exhibit behaviours associated with Autism, she found the diagnostic journey both confusing and isolating. While she was fortunate to have a friend to help guide her, she quickly recognised how difficult it was for many parents to access reliable advice and support. This personal experience sparked the idea for an app and broader support initiative for parents of autistic children.

Dr S began to explore the world of digital tools and entrepreneurship—attending free seminars, tutorials, and eventually entering a competition for new business start-ups. Her goal: to create something meaningful for families like hers.

In 2023, following a screening assessment, Dr S began Light Touch Vocational Rehabilitation to rebuild her confidence and acquire the skills needed to turn her vision into a sustainable business. Support focused on:
• Collaborative problem-solving to optimise occupational functioning
• Memory, organisation, planning, and fatigue management strategies
• Adjustments and accommodations to manage functional limitations
• Acting as a sounding board for practical business decisions.
Dr S consistently engaged with the programme, actively applying strategies between sessions. Key areas of intervention included:
• Implementing a structured weekly planner and scheduling downtime
• Prioritising and pacing tasks to manage fatigue
• Managing emails and correspondence more effectively
• Setting realistic, measurable goals
• Reflecting on progress and recognising her own impact
• Introducing stress management tools, such as the Stress Container model
• Finding the balance between business demands and health needs.

Over the course of her rehabilitation, Dr S refined her business idea and made impressive progress from successfully completing multiple courses on starting and running a small business to speaking at large events, raising awareness throughout healthcare. She launches a professional website alongside a successful business launch event and began offering one-to-one advisory sessions and webinars. Dr S has collaborated with stakeholders and both designed and delivered training sessions for parents and professionals.

Dr S continues to achieve amazing milestones. She is now looking to ahead to additional training opportunities. We wish Dr S every success as she continues to inspire and support families navigating the challenges of autism with empathy, expertise, and lived experience.

Dr S fedback to us: Shelley provided an excellent service that has helped me progress further that I would have thought possible. She was extremely professional, a good listener, was non-judgemental and helped me feel very relaxed and safe. She was very creative in how she managed my evolving story, helping me to think about things differently, create strategies and focus on my goals. It felt very reassuring when it was clear that her focus was always on my wellbeing, even though it was not necessarily on my radar. I am extremely grateful for the time I spent with Shelley, and I often felt that she was going above and beyond what her role was to be supportive. I learnt so much from my time with her, that I am so glad I made the decision to try to get back to work after my stroke. I would never have developed the skills I have without her, and it has really progressed me further than I have achieved with any other rehabilitation service. Shelley is a very caring professional, who is incredibly creative, thoughtful and generous with her support.
KMA was a fabulous service, thank you so much!