Marco with his beautiful family and the BT team.
When Tom was born, all those years ago (27 and counting) a few things stick with me now to highlight just how fortunate we were and have been in becoming parents. And I mean much more important matters than mere show biz breaks and career opportunities that might have visited us.
Amongst Nikki’s new friends who had babies at this time, Tom was the liveliest and we pined for some respite from our little lad who rarely stopped and wouldn’t sleep. We jealously observed one friend who had the perfect baby boy. Quiet and easy. Not a peep. Slept easily and through the night, but it was not long before alarm bells were sounding. Too quiet perhaps and not engaging with other children and his parents, unlike like the hive of energy we were saddled with. His parents began to fret that something was wrong, and so a long struggle ensued (many years) before he was officially diagnosed with autism. Devastating for him and his parents and chastening for us.
Autism is not a binary injury like a broken leg. Easily recognised by x-ray and easy to remedy. Autism is a highly complex spectrum of brain diversification which even experts in this field struggle to find consensus over and the uncertainty in diagnosis, delays treatment and too often compounds an unbearable strain on families.
As happened to a young couple called Marco and Amy and their first child, Max, born in 2013. Marco & Amy realised early on that Max was not developing apace with his peer group. They recognised that something was wrong, and that their son might need specialist help and intervention. But that said, Marco then quickly realised the minefield that lay ahead to access the specialist help that Max needed. Thankfully Marco was up to this challenge and his work in this area would come to impact positively on many children and families suffering the same plight.
Marco has had a varied career. Originally, a police officer, he had retrained as a trainer and mentor when Max was born, and suddenly all his skill sets were called upon to understand Max’s challenging development. His lack of eye contact, language skills, an inability to discern right from wrong, behaviour outbursts and being very difficult to manage often were daily challenges for his parents.
While pursuing the medical route for their son, Marco made applications to his local authorities and councils. He called on his previous investigation skills and began searching for answers. By the time Max was officially diagnosed with autism, Marco had dedicated himself to do all he could to become an expert on both the condition and the obstacle course that parents must negotiate to access specialist care.
Max is now 10 years old and despite his autism, he is flourishing at school. He has friendship groups, and he performs well academically. ‘High functioning’ or as Marco likes to say ‘Maximising a child’s potential' which Marco, puts down to the early interventions and the care plans put in place for his son.
And with this experience and success story, a wonderful charity called P.E.A.K was born (Parenting Empowered Autistic Kids) To draw on their experience and expertise to help families affected by autism.
Imagine the fear and the uncertainty that comes when a child fails to develop neurotypically, and the problems which are compounded by bureaucracy.
PEAK is an invaluable resource for such parents.
It is precisely what Marco and Amy required – only it wasn’t around of course – compounding their anxiety – and why Marco felt compelled to act and found their charity, Peak.
P.E.A.K is a lean charity (just 3 people) but one with a tremendous outcome, making it a perfect fit for the ethos of The Brothers Trust.
P.E.A.K provides a comprehensive package of dos and don’ts for families affected by autism. Pre and post diagnosis support at no charge to any families who seek their help.
Immediate emotional support and empathy plus the essential practical advice and guidance. Using his own experience, Marco assists parents to build cases for their child. He even represents and attends tribunals and hearings, often for disadvantaged parents who might struggle with what can be foreboding occasions.
When P.E.A.K began its work, everything was done on a part-time basis, with Marco working in his spare time outside his career in corporate training.
He was introduced to Nikki and I by a mutual friend and immediately we were struck by his knowledge but also his commitment to helping others. Speaking to parents at all hours plus weekends, but constraints on his time, limited the number of families he was able to help.
A grant from The Brothers Trust has allowed Marco to give up the day-job and dedicate all his time to P.E.A.K - yet another career change which he hopes will be his last. Since then, Marco has brought on and trained a new staff member Claire (a former nurse) to join the Peak team to assist Marco and Amy in their work with more volunteers to be recruited in the future.
Always centred on the interests of the child, Peak's services are now being recognised and drawn upon by families, schools, educators, local authorities, and health care professionals. Some of these services P.E.A.K is now able to charge for (such as professional training courses) and this creates an essential and self-perpetuating revenue stream for the charity.
The P.E.A.K website is an invaluable destination for parents, offering critical information and very welcome comfort. Vlogs and explanatory videos have recently added have been a real boon and Marco has plans for a podcast for families to share their stories of successfully confronting autism, plus a nationwide tour to share best practice with families and professionals working in this area.
Marco is a highly impressive individual. Not satisfied with the success of Max’s development, he wants to help other families and children like his own. The Brothers Trust is delighted to be a part of this and to share with our supporters a terrific example of the good works that our supporters allow us to facilitate.