A Swanscombe mum who is starting a group for parents with autistic children in the area says she was inspired by a lack of judgement-free environments available to families like hers.

Emma Ben Moussa, 30, told News Shopper that when she takes her son Sammy, who is autistic, out and about, she often feels concious of others passing looks and remarks towards his behaviour.

"Everywhere I go I seem to get judged.

"I got on a bus once and let Sammy sit in the big chair on his own and he got excited.

"When he gets excited, he tends to rock back and forth quite a bit.

"But then a woman sitting behind us started giving out to him for doing it.

"People don't realise that ASD (Autistic Spectrum Disorder) is an invisible disability and don't understand when they see an ASD child like Sammy having a meltdown," she said.

Emma also said that because it can be a challenge to take Sammy out with her for very long, she often felt "isolated" within her own area.

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"The problem with ASD children is that they don't like change. It's not often I would take him out of Swanscombe," she continued.

However, when Emma began to share the idea of a group for parents with kids like Sammy, she was surprised at the overwhelming responses she received sharing her enthusiasm.

"I was over the moon to see so many other parents support it, I just wish I thought of it sooner.

"It’s nice to go somewhere where you feel accepted and that's what I want for this.

"I want somewhere where my child might come over and steal your crisps but have that parent completely understand why he did so.

"These are the children that don’t get invited to the birthday parties, so this is very important to me," she said.

Emma has since gone on to raise more than £200 for her group's first event which will fund a soft play area and a bouncy castle.

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She hopes the success of the first event will lead to future opportunities for more.

Parents wishing to attend the group's first event can do so on Thursday, February 21, at the church hall in Swanscombe Street at 12.30pm.