A family have started a children's charity after their 12-year-old son struggled for years to get help with his mental health and suicidal attempts.

Kirsty Solman, 41, and husband Scott, 46, have been trying for over two years to get help for their son Kyle, 12, who struggles with depression and anxiety issues.

After Kyle’s mental health worsened during the COVID lockdowns, the family began seeking help for him – but say they weren’t taken seriously, even after multiple attempts from Kyle to end his own life.

“Kyle has always been quite an anxious child,” Kirsty said.

“A lot of that was down to his autism, but then lockdown hit, and we started noticing a change in his behaviours. He started becoming very, very withdrawn.

“Before COVID, he was very active – he was part of a mountain biking club, he did swimming. He was always on the go, and he loved being out and about.

“During the first lockdown, he had talking therapy over Zoom. They said that he seemed absolutely fine – but they couldn’t see that he was constantly fidgeting and picking his fingers completely raw.

“He finished the talking therapy, and they told us they couldn’t do anything else.
“In November 2021, it all got too much for him and that was the first time he tried to end his life.

“It wasn’t until Kyle’s third attempt before his doctors spoke to their psychiatrists to see if anyone could take him on. He’d done all the therapy they’d advised, and nothing was helping.

“Since then, he’s been in psychiatry. In the meantime, they’ve started him on sertraline for his anxiety.

“We’ve fought for him constantly.”

Since starting medication, Kyle’s mood has gradually begun to improve – and he has even been able to return to school for the first time in months.

Kyle and his parents have been documenting his experiences with sertraline on their social media to attempt to reduce the stigma around children who receive mental health medication.

“The medication along with the continued therapies have definitely made a massive difference,” Kirsty said.

“He missed half of his final year in primary school due to how poorly his mental health got.

“Now he’s in secondary school and he’s enjoying being at school. Seeing him actually want to go to school is amazing.

“He’s still not at the point where he’s ready to go out and about and join clubs outwith school, but the fact that he’s able to go to school is a really big step.

“Since we’ve been raising awareness and Kyle’s been documenting his journey on sertraline, a lot of families have come forward and said thank you – they felt alone and judged when their child was put on medication.

“We want to try and help end that stigma, because that shouldn’t be the case – if a child needs mental health medication, that shouldn’t have to be kept a secret. It shouldn’t be something that we can’t talk about.”