West Country families with autistic children to be helped by team at Plymouth Science Park

Therapists and carers are part of a team, based at Plymouth Science Park, which aims to help families with autistic children.
GoCarer’s co-founders, Anzel Lai and Kingma Ma, have created a team of multi-disciplinary specialists to assist young autistic people with developing their level of independence.
When Anzel’s son was diagnosed with autism at an early age, Anzel quickly found there was no ‘centralised’ solution to help parents who may be struggling with the additional pressure of bringing up children who are on the autistic spectrum.
He shared his frustrations with his colleague, Kingma. Together they researched how the social care and education sectors could improve their focus on the development of young people with autism. Their passion and determination to make a positive difference motived them to leave their London-based jobs in the technology industry before founding GoCarer.
“There are over 300 families in Plymouth with officially diagnosed autistic needs,” says Anzel. “Waiting times are often very long for both local council and private therapist help, so GoCarer aims to be able to be the one stop shop with specialists who can provide training in their different fields of expertise for children, as well as reduce stress for parents.”
GoCarer uses algorithms to handle the logistics, and are also building an online technology platform to share information such as the client’s care requirements, carer’s progress and therapy session feedback - allowing the team and parents to easily communicate, monitor progress and tweak treatments accordingly. Doing so will provide a more personalised approach to helping the child’s development.
The team are focused on ensuring a top quality personal service is delivered for both parents and children - while also ensuring affordability and accessibility for the families.
GoCarer has recently moved into offices at Plymouth Science Park where they had been impressed by the large range of high tech on-site businesses and its proximity to Derriford Hospital.
They also found the range of amenities and friendly atmosphere to be a crucial factor in their decision to locate at PSP.
PSP is dedicated to help new businesses grow through mentoring and networking events. The 25 acre site is nestled in woodland and has its own café, which has a terraced area overlooking a pond and spectacular views of the city.