I believe in our goal – Fiona’s story
In this heartfelt post, a mother shares her two-decade-long journey with social services—from a traumatic first experience in Scotland to discovering trust, purpose, and hope through her involvement with PAN. With her son on the autistic spectrum and years of navigating systems behind her, she was invited to join PAN by a social worker who recognised her strength and insight. Now, she’s helping shape a better future—not just for families like hers, but for the next generation of social workers. Through peer support, advocacy, and bridge-building between parents and professionals, she’s working toward a system rooted in empathy, understanding, and lasting change.
4/12/20253 min read
Please tell me about your background and how you came to be involved with PAN?
I am a mother. My son is on the autistic spectrum and his disability social worker at the time, had been approached by Kim and asked if any of his girls would be suitable for PAN.
Adam was the first social worker I had ever trusted. He knew what I had experienced over two decades of good and bad social work involvement. He thought I could be helpful to PAN to help others with some of the situations that I had been through.
Thinking about the last 12 months, what good or bad changes have come about as a result of your involvement with PAN?
Helping others and offering peer support; making my PAN family; planning my future career as a social worker; learning information from professionals, as well as you guys (for example, the rights to see your grandson) and feeling useful and motivated because I’m helping others and changing the system.
Of all the changes you have identified, which is the most significant to you and why?
The most significant change for me is to do with changing the system and building the bridges between social workers and parents - changing the system and the stigma regarding social workers. Twenty-two years ago, I had my first experience of social services, and it was a horrendous experience. That was in Scotland. Then, five years ago I met Adam (a social worker down here) and well, that was completely different. I trusted him.
And hopefully - by all of us parents coming together, we are starting to see things happening for PAN, and building bridges – that’s the main thing, isn’t it? My main thing is, because I’ve seen two sides of it, and I’m still seeing a bad side of it in Scotland, about grandparents’ rights, I know it’s different laws, but it needs to be changed across the board. The stigma needs to go, and the system needs to be fixed.
The year before PAN started, Adam suggested that I did training with WCADA, so I did a year of training with WCADA, but it wasn’t that type of help that I wanted to give, it was a different sort of help. I moved on from that and now I know where I want to go with that for the future.
I’ve got about another eight years before I can work, because of my son, I have a long time to prepare for it. I want to train as a social worker. I spoke to Adam yesterday about it. That’s why he recommended me to PAN, because of past experiences on all different levels.
Regarding the most significant change you've spoken of, please can you tell me a bit about what it was like before, what it is like now and what caused the change?
Twenty two years ago in Scotland it was horrendous. Hopefully by coming together we will - and it looks like we are already are - starting to make a change and make a new generation of social workers. I think that’s what’s needed. I want to help mums, parents, and families and dads.
That’s why WCADA wasn’t right for me. It was nothing to do with the drug misuse or anything like that. I want to be helpful in a different way. It’s about changing the system and building the bridges between parents and social workers.
We are expanding. We are definitely expanding. Hopefully by us all (parents and social workers) coming together, all these places we are going and pitches we are making, new training, new funding, I just want growth and we are going to grow. PAN is very much needed.