Cristina is a parent carer of a 13-year-old young man with a severe learning disability and complex support needs. Cristina has a professional background in the law but took an extended career break when her son was two to become a full-time carer, due to the special needs nursery place he had been offered being for only two hours per day. The family moved from London to Essex when her son was 5 in 2018 for a specialist school setting. He moved to a second school placement in 2022 when the school they had moved for were unable to meet his needs. The school he moved to is a is a highly specialist day school for those with an autism diagnosis and comorbid associated complex needs who cannot access education otherwise. Her son moved to an out of county residential school setting in September 2024, due to his need for a fully immersive 24/7 curriculum and minimal transitions. Since 2024, Cristina has worked for the Challenging Behaviour Foundation (CBF), the only charity in the UK dedicated to supporting children, young people and adults with a severe learning disability whose behaviours are set to challenge, harnessing her experience of navigating the systems around those with additional needs to support others. Through her work with the CBF, Cristina delivered a presentation to the Complex Needs Steering Group led by Dame Christine Lenehan, reflecting on her family’s experiences and the difficulties of having a child living almost 200 miles away from the family home. Cristina continues to be involved in research projects alongside CBF, offering lived experience input and alternative perspectives for researchers on projects. Cristina has been a trustee of a multi-academy trust and has taken on governor roles in two special needs schools. She has also co-delivered training alongside Respond, a trauma informed charity and part of the wider BILD Group, to the NHS in relation to systemised trauma from a family perspective.