'I always dreamed of being a mum - I was told autism would stop me'

When Terri Loughman was diagnosed with high-functioning autism during her twenties, she was told she wouldn't make a good mum.

By the time she'd reached adulthood, Terri had experienced more trauma than most people would in a lifetime, and serious mental health issues had plagued most of her early life.

Her autism means that she finds it difficult to recognise other people's emotions, and doctors feared she wouldn't be able to make a proper connection with a newborn baby.

READ MORE: Staff fuming after company tells them to move to Romania or risk losing job

But after years of fertility problems, in 2021, Terri and her partner Nikki welcomed their baby daughter Riley into the world.

At first, Terri, now 39, feared that doctors might have been right. She struggled with depression and suicidal thoughts, fearing she couldn't provide the care her daughter needed.

But thanks to the incredible support she received from an organisation in Manchester, she and Riley now have an incredible bond.

Terri now wants to share her story to provide hope to other women with mental health issues, and to demonstrate why the help of Sure Start centres across the country are so vital.

"I was formally diagnosed with autism in 2012 and my psychiatrist used to say I wouldn't be able to have children because of my mental health problems," she said, speaking to the M.E.N.

"In 2014 I was given a different support worker and she told me that with the right support, she thought I could be a mum. My partner doesn't have any mental health problems and it was her right to be able to have a child as well.

"Autism is a spectrum and everyone lies differently on that spectrum. I always wanted to have a baby since I was a teenager but I never thought