In May, we revealed the Vale of Leven Autism and Aspergers Forum (VOLAAF) had secured new premises in the former Renton Nursery after its previous home, the Carman Centre, was closed down.

Now, the group has keys to the new facility, which has been rebranded as the West of Scotland Autism and Aspergers Centre and has also recently successfully applied for charitable status.

Speaking to the Post, VOLAAF member Angela Davis says there is a renewed optimsim within the group.

She said: “It’s great, it’s a real accomplishment for a group which started off so small to get recognition from the charity regulators. Now that we have our own premises it’s going to cost a lot of money for rates and so on.

“It really opens the doors for funding applications — we have been really fortunate in terms of the funding we have been able to get so far. Of course with the new centre we’re really hoping to reach out to as many people in West Dunbartonshire and Central Scotland as we can.” The Carman Centre was shut in February after the Renton Community Development Trust (RCDT) said it could no longer afford to run the facility.

This came less than a year after VOLAAF installed a £25,000 sensory room, which group members paid for themselves.

Since then, the group has been using the Vale of Leven Academy, which West Dunbartonshire Council kindly let them use for free.

Angela added: “The council has been really good, they have brought it up to a good standard for handing over. Someone broke in to the building and damaged it and they’ve went back in and fixed that too. We’re really grateful to the council for letting us use the Vale Of Leven Academy but it wasn’t so ideal. It was a big echoey room, and it caused a lot of sensory problems for the kids.

“The main benefit of the new centre is it’s somewhere the kids can be familiar with again.

“It’s not just enriching the kids’ lives, I would love to be able to take my two boys to a swing park but I can’t, it’s too difficult.

“To have somewhere where they can relax or even if they want something more stimulating they can run about outside, it’s just amazing.”