A PUPIL at Coads Green Primary School has been on national television raising awareness of young children of parents suffering with Parkinson’s disease.

Amy Fearn appeared on BBC’s The One Show last Wednesday, May 3, alongside her family — her mother Lyn has Parkinson’s disease.

Viewers heard that 55-year-old Lyn was diagnosed with the disease four years ago — ‘a condition normally associated with grandparents not parents’.

Amy and her brother Mael were just four and eight years old at the time. The One Show team spent a day with the Fearns to better understand the condition and how it affects a young family.

The experiences of the Fearns were brought to the BBC’s attention, because the family had been a catalyst for a film project — last year a group of people with Parkinson’s in the South West who are members of the Peninsula Parkinson’s Excellence Network (PenPEN) worked with Parkinson’s UK and Parkinson’s experts and researchers at Plymouth University to produce the first information resource for teachers and professionals who interact with young children.

The film, called ‘Listen to my Thoughts’, includes quotes from Mael and Amy about their experiences, and an interview with Helen Young, a teacher at Lewannick Community Primary School.

In The One Show’s film, Mael said when he was told about his mother’s diagnosis: “I felt quite worried because I didn’t know what it was and what the effects were.”

Amy said: “Sometimes she can’t take me out places, she gets really tired so we can’t do as much stuff as normal parents and children can do. That makes me feel upset.

“Then we clean up and we put stuff tidy and we do our bedrooms and Mael sometimes cooks a little short dinner for me and himself. When you have a parent with an illness you’re feeling alone at school.”

Lyn’s husband Eifion said: “The children needed to speak to someone and all the literature they were getting was all about how grandma and granddad feels with Parkinson’s and with that what they felt was a little bit of stigma.”

Lyn added: “They kept saying to me are you old mum?”

Amy delivered a speech to her school about her mum, shown as part of The One Show film.

On The One Show Lyn said: “It’s really important to get the message out so people become aware, open up and start talking about neurological disease.”

Presenter Alex Jones described Mael and Amy as an ‘inspirational brother and sister’.

She asked Amy if she felt it had made a difference in school. Amy said: “I can talk to them and I feel like I can talk if I’m worried about mum at school. That makes me feel much better.”

Matt Baker asked Mael what his message would be to other families going through the same situation. Mael said: “Just tell people that you know and just don’t keep it inside. It helps a lot.”

Eifion added: “It’s a horrible disease, it has many symptoms, it has physical symptoms and it has mental symptoms as well and it’s very difficult for the children to see their mum go through that. It’s hard to see them feel like they have some responsibility to look after their mum.”

The One Show broadcast of May 3 is available to view on the BBC iPlayer for the next three weeks. The Plymouth University film is available to watch via www.plymouth.ac.uk/news/film-supports-young-children-with-parents-with-parkinsons-disease