A mum and West Sussex resident has received an OBE after being nominated for her 'substantial and sustained commitment' to assisting people with autism and hidden disabilities.
Jo-Ann D’Costa-Manuel, who lives in Crawley, has been bestowed one of the highest-ranking awards in the King’s Birthday Honours, which herald extraordinary contribution and service to people across the UK.
She receives the honour following nine years of raising the profile of hidden disabilities, initiating change, creating autism awareness campaigns and major fundraising.
During her work to raise awareness, she has become a voluntary autism ambassador for a major airline; introduced a ‘quiet hour’ across a major supermarket chain leading others in the UK and overseas to follow suit; created a free online resource for parent carers across the globe and raising and gaining pledges worth more than £7 million for Caudwell Children and now she’s helping to do the same for Caudwell Youth.
Jo-Ann, who is now a dedicated charity pioneer to philanthropist John Caudwell, commented:
“This is an important legacy for my children and family. I never expected this.
"Our journey began with little support and being misunderstood every single time we stepped out of the door with our younger son who has autism. A horrific plane ride and a local shopping trip left permanent scars in our hearts.
"I didn’t want any other child, parent, or family to experience what we did so I approached an airline to create a hidden disability package, and a supermarket to create a shopping ‘quiet hour’.
"I didn’t ask to be paid for this as I knew that would mean lots of red tape and wasted time. I wanted action and I was confident I could start a chain reaction if I just pushed that first huge domino.
“From here it just escalated. From undertaking national and global projects to creating social media content, which was viewed by millions, I always knew I could change our negative journey into a positive one and create impactful change for others.
"But I didn’t do it on my own, my husband and two children were part of every project – we are a team.
“I am now learning from one of the greatest philanthropists of our time, John Caudwell, and I am proud to represent him as his dedicated charity pioneer and continue to support hidden plights.
“This accolade is a legacy for our children and hopefully an inspiration to others to always reach out and help someone in need.”
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