Two Ayrshire mums have told how an Ardrossan social enterprise has rescued their autistic children from lockdown ‘hell’.

Lorna Cullen said her 14-year-old boy, Dafydd, was sent into a spiral of meltdowns when the COVID-19 shutdown came into effect in March.

She said: “He didn’t want to leave his room and didn’t want to communicate with anyone in the house.

“It was hell.”

Suzette Hunt said for her 11-year-old girl, Eraina, the coronavirus restrictions have been a ‘nightmare’.

She told the Herald: “She’s used to being outside, at school, with her friends or doing sports.

“With ASN children they need a routine, without it they can’t function.

“Their world has ended.”

Through her social worker, Suzette was referred to Ko-Nekt, a support centre in Ardrossan that caters for kids with additional support needs (ASN).

The centre is operated by Ayrshire Children’s Services a social enterprise that was recently awarded National Lottery funding to provide free one-to-one respite care for children with ASN not currently covered by council provision during COVID-19 lockdown.

Thanks to funds from the National Lottery, Ko-Nekt was able to give Eraina four hours of care for free on top of the three hours she pays for.

Suzette said: “I cried when Marianne said she’d give it to me, it’s just amazing.

“It doesn’t sound much to some people, but it’s a lot.

“It sounds daft, but I can have a nap. I can have a full cup of coffee on my own without it going cold.”

Ayrshire Children’s Services’ chief executive, Marianne Greenway, said: “We’ve still been able to give that invaluable support to families and we want to let people know we are still here.

“What spurred me on, was how amazing the staff are, that they just embrace this period of time, amongst the chaos around them. ”

When the government announced that lockdown restrictions would be eased for those with autism, it meant Dafydd was finally able to make the essential journey from his home in

Ayr to Ko-nekt in Ardrossan.

She said: “I contacted Marianne at Ko-Nekt and she came up with the solution to get him into the centre with one member of staff.

“As soon as he knew he was going to get that little bit of normality back, he started to speak to us more and his emotional state improved.

“Dafydd had never been able to connect with another child of his own age until he went to Ko-Nekt.

“He has gained so much confidence, he will talk to me, and he is happier in himself.”

You can find out more at ko-nekt.co.uk.