Hi I am Ann Watson, mother of three fantastic daughters. My eldest daughter was diagnosed as "being on the autistic spectrum" at the age of nine, but even before then I knew she had learning difficulties. I felt an overwhelming  drive to get her the very best support and education. This even led me to take the bold step of buying and running a small independent prep school. I know I am one of the lucky ones. I have always had fantastic support from my family, our GP’s, my Local Authority and social workers and we have been able to send our daughter to some brilliant specialist educational establishments. However, I am all too aware that many parents of children with disabilities have a frustrating and difficult time finding the right support for their children and it gets even more difficult as they progress into adulthood. Which is why I am on a mission, I intend to work hard to facilitate the bringing together of local authorities, expert specialist transition services, businesses and charities in the true spirit of The Big Society in order to create opportunities for work and independent living, specifically for young adults with learning disabilities. This is a Social Action website so it would be great if you felt compelled to help in some way too.
These young people have abilities as well as a disability and they have great potential. As a society we should be able to give them every opportunity to achieve that potential in a safe and supportive environment of their choice. In order to influence change and to make a difference, I joined The Conservative Party and was honoured to be elected on to South Derbyshire District Council in May 2011 where I am proud to represent the residents of Aston ward. 
I have recently been appointed a trustee for Linkage Community Trust which is a truly brilliant organisation. Its amazing work has been my inspiration and I hope that we can provide opportunities for more people to take advantage of the great services Linkage can offer. I have also become an ambassador for The National Autistic Society in order to support their fantastic work in bringing about real policy change and raising awareness of Autism. This is purely a personal web site and all views expressed here are entirely my own however, please feel free to contact me on any areas covered by this site.

Check out the photo's from our recent Lunch for Linkage. The aim of the lunch was to raise awareness of the fantastic work undertaken by Linkage Community Trust in supporting young adults with learning difficulties. In the photo you can see Heather Wheeler MP for South Derbyshire and Andrew Griffiths MP for Burton on Trent and Uttoxeter along with members of the senior management team from Linkage and of course my daughter Natalie who was an excellent ambassador for Linkage. The lunch was attended by local business owners, officers and councillors, parents and people who work in both the voluntary sector and Social Services.
To find out more about the work of Linkage Community Trust go to http://www.linkage.org.uk/