AS a single mum of three and a carer for her dad who has dementia with Parkinsons, coping with son Jack's severe autism has been particularly tough for Denise Fox.
Jack, eight, can only say six words; Sam, cake, juice, toilet, biscuit and coke. He doesn't like change - even putting up the Christmas tree will stress him - and he's been known to forcibly eject visitors from the house.

Unsurprisingly this has left Denise feeling isolated. Even a trip to the supermarket is fraught. "I can't do a full shop, just three or four things," says Denise, a former paramedic from Middlesbrough. "Sometimes he's OK,
sometimes he'll go absolutely nuts - you just never know.

"Once we were stopped by police on the A19. My son, who's 6ft 1ins, was trying to restrain him while he had a meltdown and was pulling at my hair."

At home Jack likes to be naked and doesn't like people in his space - even brother Dominic, 21, and sister Holly, 19 - so Denise has spent all her savings creating a safe room for him, despite being turned down by four
charities for padding and soft play equipment.

Jack was first diagnosed aged three after he was given glasses to correct a squint and wouldn't tolerate wearing them. "For the first two years after diagnosis I was on autopilot, in an horrendous place," says Denise, who
takes anti-depressants to cope. "It's only the last 18 months that I've managed to come to terms with it.

"Jack's never going to be able to work or live independently. At some point he will be living in some sort of respite, because I wouldn't expect Holly or Dominic to put their lives on hold to look after him."

After getting in touch with The Main Project, Denise is now finding things slightly easier. "We're in a better place to where we were five years ago," she says. "They're more like friends than professionals."

The centre provides two respite days a month, which has been a godsend. "Holly and Dominic have found it really
difficult because we can't do holidays or days out," says Denise. "I haven't had a night out since Jack was born. The respite days give us time aside to do something together, although I usually use one of those days to take my mam and dad out somewhere."

The school holiday play scheme has also been a big help. "Usually I dread the school holidays," says Denise. "But for the first time, I actually managed to keep my head above water."

But despite what she's been through, Denise has kept a sense of humour and says living day to day has made her appreciate life more.

"It's not all doom and gloom," she says.
"Since Jack's been diagnosed I've become a bit loopy, but in a good way. If I see someone looking miserable, I'll try and get a smile out of them. I'm sure there are people out there who can't have children who would be over
the moon to have mine."