Mother nominated for Woman of Substance awards

She is one of eight to be shortlisted for the awards, and was chosen above hundreds of other women, and will attend a special reception at The Dorchester Hotel in central London this week.
She said: "I got a call from the Daily Express and was quite taken aback, my sister nominated me.
"I first I didn't realise what the awards were, now I'm off to the Dorchester next week where I will meet the Duchess of York and Esther Rantzen."
The Women of Substance awards are based on a best selling book by Barbara Rose Bradford.

Anna has one child with Asperger's syndrome and one with Autism and fought to open Hillingdon Manor School, having to re-mortgage her house in the process.

She found that she was not alone in requiring a school for children with special needs, as scores of parents in Hillingdon and west London were in the same boat, and now the school has gone from strength to strength.

Now Anna speaks regularly to parents around the world online who have children with Autism and Aspergers, including the mother of Gary McKinnon, the computer hacker with Aspergers who faces being extradited to America.

"His mother is so stressed, she's fighting like mad, she knows he has done wrong, but why must he face trial in America."