Tribute as trustee chair steps down after 21 years

Gavin Bestford retired last month as chair of the North East Autism Society. He tells patron Peter Barron what drove him to spend 21 years fighting to improve the lives of autistic and neurodivergent people.

More than 30 years have passed yet tears still well up in Gavin Bestford’s eyes as he recalls the day he and his wife, Denise, were given news “like a dagger through our hearts”.

A neurological consultant had told them their three-yearold son, Alex, had “real problems” that would have a lifelong impact.

“We drove home without saying a word. It was too painful – it still is,” admits Gavin.

But that pain inspired a personal mission – to make life better not just for Alex, but for other children and their families.

And that’s what Gavin has achieved through his decades of dedication as trustee and then chair of the North East Autism Society, where he describes his mission as to provide

“the best services, delivered by the best people, to create the best lives possible.”

As the 73-year-old steps down, he looks back with pride at how, under his leadership, the charity has undergone a huge growth in services, along with more than £30m of capital development in specialist facilities.

Gavin was born in Crook, County Durham, and had a 33year career in local government accountancy, ending up as Deputy Director of Finance with Durham City Council before taking early retirement in 2000.

He married Denise in 1979. Their daughter, Laura, was born in 1983, and Alex followed in 1986. When Alex was four, a consultant at the Nuffield Centre in Newcastle told his parents that he had significant issues.

Gavin and Denise were advised to look to the Tyne and Wear Autistic Society in Sunderland – as NEAS was then called - for an assessment. Alex was finally diagnosed as autistic and offered a place at the charity’s school.

The society had been founded in 1980 due to the fierce determination of a group of parents with autistic children.

“They were desperate for schools, and for their kids to have what everyone else had,” explains Gavin. “They took a lot of risks. If they hadn’t, the outlook for their children was institutional care, with precious little education.”

Alex has been cared for by the charity ever since. Now 36, he lives in a supported living home at New Warlands Farm, Country Durham.

His dad became a trustee in 2002 and took over as chair in 2005, the year the charity was renamed the North East Autism Society.

Back then, NEAS had just one school, an adult service, some care homes for adults and children, and employed around 250 people. Today, it has four schools, a college, skills centre, large social and vocational units, residential care and supported living homes, family support, short breaks lodges and employability services, and employs 1,200 staff.

“Everything I’ve ever done, I’ve thought about that first group of parents, wondering what they’d want us to do,” says Gavin.

“Their lesson was that you have to take risks to make things happen. The North-East’s a long way from Westminster and, if you wait for the Government to give you money, you’ll be waiting a long time.”

Soon after he took over as chair, he recruited John Phillipson as chief executive and he describes the appointment as “pivotal”.

“I told him I wanted to see big projects, and before long, I was begging him to slow down a bit!” he laughs.

John is the first to salute the outgoing chair:

“Gavin’s made a massive contribution, partly born out of being a parent, but because he’s naturally a passionate advocate on behalf of every service user and their families. He’s always got behind everything we’ve wanted to do.

Gavin will be succeeded by recently retired GP, Rakesh Chopra, whose son is also looked after by NEAS.

“I’ll miss it like hell because it’s been my life, but I know it’s in safe hands,” says Gavin. “I’ve visited a lot of places and I know that NEAS has services that are comparable to anywhere in the world.

“We take children and adults who’ve been failed by umpteen services, and it’s often us that stands between them having a quality of life or no life.”

Alex is just one example of the many beneficiaries. “We know he’s in a safe place for the rest of his life, and that means the world, because all you ever want is the best for your children,” Gavin says.

It may still be painful, but what makes Gavin Bestford’s contribution so special is that he didn’t just fight for his own son to have his best life – he fought for countless other families