Death of mother and autistic son sparks tireless campaign for Stannington woman

Sep 18 2011 by Neil McKay, Sunday Sun

IT was ten years ago today when a traumatised mum plunged to her death clutching her autistic son, shocking the nation.

And now a close family friend has spoken about why she chose to campaign to help autism sufferers.

It was seven days after the September 11 atrocities when the deaths of Helen Rogan and her 11-year-old son Mark sounded alarm bells across the country.

Helen, 38, and Mark leapt 180 feet to their deaths from Gill Bridge viaduct, otherwise known as Hownsgill, near Consett, County Durham.

Helen, who was bringing up her son alone in Blackhill, Consett, after separating from Mark’s father, had given up her job as an occupational therapist several years earlier to look after her son.

Yesterday Lesley Henderson, herself the mother of an autistic son Toby, now 17, and a friend of Helen, said: “When I first heard about Helen and Mark leaping off the viaduct I was deeply shocked and very sad.

“But I couldn’t really understand why she took such a drastic course of action.

“Now I fully understand. She obviously felt there was nowhere for her to turn.”

Five months ago Lesley, 53, from Stannington, Northumberland, a tireless campaigner for autistic causes who formed the Toby Henderson Trust in her son’s name, penned an open letter to Prime Minister David Cameron calling for more help for parents of autistic children.

She was moved to write the letter after Toby attacked her in an Asda supermarket.