Last month, we revealed the Vale of Leven Autism and Aspergers Forum (VOLAAF) had been handed the keys to the new West of Scotland Autism Centre, the former Renton Nursery.

The facility and its members support children with autism from across West Dunbartonshire.

Since then, the group has been working round the clock to get the centre ready for use and earlier this month, it was formally opened by a leading autism campaigner, Anna Kennedy OBE.

In 1999, Anna and her husband Sean decided to take action because there was no special support available for their two sons — Patrick, now 24, who has Asperger’s and Angelo, now 21, who is autistic and has epilepsy.

The pair re-mortgaged their home and opened up Hillingdon Manor School in London which now caters for 165 children.

They have since set-up the West London Community College for adults living with autism spectrum distorder (ASD).

Anna Kennedy Online is a resource which offers advice and support to parents of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

Anna herself now has more than 70,000 followers on social media from across the world and updates her followers each day.

It was through social media Anna first became aware of VOLAAF and the work they do. She told the Post: “It was the group’s chairman Gary who first got in touch and they’ve been following me ever since. I share what I’m up to, and post every single day.

“I try and put out a positive message because all you read is negativity about autism, and find out what’s happening with grass-roots groups across the country.

“Seeing what the autism forum has achieved reminds me of when we first started, I was very impressed and very proud of what they achieved.

“What they have done is a fantastic accomplishment for the group, it’s hard enough to cope with a child with autism let alone do what they have done.” In February, VOLAAF was left without a home after the Carman Centre in Renton was shut due to financial pressures — this came less than a year after the group opened a £25,000 sensory room which they paid for themselves.

In May, West Dunbartonshire Council agreed to let VOLAAF use the old Renton nursery, giving them it at a “peppercorn rate” for a year, with the hope being the group can purchase it next year.

Anna continued: “It’s so important to have groups like VOLAAF doing what they do, even the smallest changes can make a big difference to children and families.” “Children don’t grow out of autism, it doesn’t stop when they are 19. It’s important to never stop and never give in.” THE man who could be the next Prime Minister of the United Kingdom was in the area last week to talk to the electorate about next month’s vote on independence.

An invited audience of around 200 people turned out at Clydebank Town Hall on Friday to hear Ed Miliband, leader of the Labour Party, discuss the major issues of the Independence campaign — employment, the economy, defence and social justice.

There was a cross-section of people amongst the audience — young and old — all of whom had questions to ask of Mr Miliband regarding the future of the country.

Also present was Gemma Doyle, MP for West Dunbartonshire, her predecessor Lord McFall and Anas Sarwar, MP for Glasgow Central as well as several councillors.

Speaking to the Reporter after the event, Ms Doyle — who also addressed the meeting — said it proved to be a big success. The MP told the Reporter: “I think it was a really good event and a really great meeting. We had a real mix of people and a cross-section of the community, across the generations.

“We discussed a lot of the issues that people are interested in, I think Ed made a really strong case for why Scotland should stay part of the UK.

“One of the points I made when I opened the meeting was that Ed talks about making the economy work for everyone and that message is one that resonates a lot for the people of West Dunbartonshire.” Some of the major talking points of the meeting were the future of Trident and jobs at Faslane in the event of a Yes vote.

Mr Miliband also said lessons had been learned from the failings of previous Labour governments and he would not repeat the same mistakes should the party be voted into power next year.

There was also concerns expressed about how Mr Miliband and the Labour Party would attempt to deal with apathy amongst younger voters, which the party leader said was the responsibility of everyone including young people themselves.

Ms Doyle continued: “I think it’s clear from the event that he does understand the people of this area. I just think the issues that Ed is campaigning on for the general election in 2015, like freezing energy prices and stopping zero hour contracts, are all ones that are important to the people of West Dunbartonshire.

“The event proved to be a big hit with him too, I was speaking to him as he was leaving the town hall and he told me he didn’t want to leave, I think it’s really important for him to get out there and talk to people.” AN INNOVATIVE new centre to support parents, families and children with autism has been officially unveiled.

Last month, we revealed the Vale of Leven Autism and Aspergers Forum (VOLAAF) had been handed the keys to the new West of Scotland Autism Centre, the former Renton Nursery.

Since then, the group has been working round the clock to get the centre ready for use and earlier this month, it was formally opened by a leading autism campaigner, Anna Kennedy OBE.

In 1999, Anna and her husband Sean decided to take action because there was no special support available for their two sons — Patrick, now 24, who has Asperger’s and Angelo, now 21, who is autistic and has epilepsy.

The pair re-mortgaged their home and opened up Hillingdon Manor School in London which now caters for 165 children.

They have since set-up the West London Community College for adults living with autism spectrum distorder (ASD).

Anna Kennedy Online is a resource which offers advice and support to parents of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

Anna herself now has more than 70,000 followers on social media from across the country and worldwide and updates her followers each day.

It was through social media Anna first became aware of VOLAAF and the work they do. She told the Reporter: “It was the group’s chairman Gary who first got in touch and they’ve been following me ever since. I share what I’m up to, and post every single day.

“I try and put out a positive message because all you read is negativity about autism, and find out what’s happening with grass-roots groups across the country.

“Seeing what the autism forum has achieved reminds me of when we first started, I was very impressed and very proud of what they achieved.” “What they have done is a fantastic accomplishment for the group, it’s hard enough to cope with a child with autism let alone do what they have done.” In February, VOLAAF was left without a home after the Carman Centre in Renton was shut due to financial pressures — this came less than a year after the group opened a £25,000 sensory room which they paid for themselves.

In May, West Dunbartonshire Council agreed to let VOLAAF use the old Renton nursery, giving them it at a “peppercorn rate” for a year, with the hope being the group can purchase it next year.

Anna continued: “It’s so important to have groups like VOLAAF doing what they do, even the smallest changes can make a big difference to children and families.

“Children don’t grow out of autism, it doesn’t stop when they are 19. It’s important to never stop and never give in.”