A UNWAVERING Redditch mother who spent months battling to prove her innocence after being accused of faking her son’s autism is holding an unique event in Bromsgrove to help raise awareness and educate people about the condition.

Bernadette Louise, aged 34, was accused of causing significant emotional harm to her four-year-old son, then three, after saying she believed he had autism, specifically pathological demand avoidance (PDA).

She was issued a Child Protection Order and enduring months of monitoring by social services, causing her son anxiety and making her physically ill.

Months later, a second opinion from a private clinic diagnosed her son with highly functioning autism with PDA, sensory issues and possible ADHD, in just three hours.

Now, Bernadette is holding an art and spoken word event, which aims to expose the true harm caused by authorities to families with ‘unseen disabilities’ at Bromsgrove’s Artrix on Slideslow Drive.

She is using documentary mobile phone images and direct quotes from the assessment process to highlight a desperate need for pathological demand avoidance awareness.

Bernadette intends to highlight the accusations that caused the NHS to refer to children’s services resulting in a Child Protection Order.

The event, which is taking place in the Artrix gallery, will run from Wednesday, February 1 to Sunday, February 26.

The exhibition will be part of the monthly programme of 2D, 3D and mixed media artwork.

Admission is free and is open 10am to 4pm Monday-Saturday and on performance evenings.

For information about autism visit, autism.org.uk. For further details on the show, visit artrix.co.uk/whats-on/exhibitions/bernadette-louise-accused-an-autism-mother.