Accessible Mental & Physical Wellbeing Support for the
Parents / Carers of Children with Special Needs

Evidence-Based Mental & Physical Health Support
for Parents & Carers
Available 24/7 When You Need It
Accessible | Affordable | AI-Powered

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Executive Summary

Accessible Mental & Physical Wellbeing Support for the
Parents / Carers of Children with Special Needs

THE REALITY YOU'RE LIVING
Raising children with special needs is both deeply rewarding and profoundly challenging. Yet while support exists for our children, support for us as parents and carers remains critically limited.
In fact, research shows parents/carers of children with special needs experience stress hormone profiles comparable to combat soldiers. Yet unlike soldiers, we face:
- Therapy waiting lists & scheduling conflicts (when we need help NOW)
- Expensive private therapy costs per session (unaffordable on already strained budgets)
- No respite care to attend appointments (no one to watch your child)
- Chronic stress that's biologically hijacked your ability to prioritize self-careYou're told to "put your oxygen mask on first" - but the system offers no oxygen mask to reach for.WHAT WE'RE BUILDING
AI-delivered therapy is now the most widely used application of AI in healthcare, with research showing outcomes comparable to in-person sessions.
We're building on this proven foundation to create support specifically for special needs parents/carers - addressing BOTH the psychological AND biological damage chronic caregiver stress causes because you can't fix one without the other.
Available 24/7, at the touch of a button, in your own space.THREE INTEGRATED PILLARS:
1. STRESS MANAGEMENT & PSYCHOLOGICAL SUPPORT
Evidence-based support through crises, CBT adapted for special needs parenting realities, and protocols that understand your actual challenges. Not generic wellness advice.
2. METABOLIC HEALTH GUIDANCE
Understanding and addressing what chronic stress has done to your body and how to fix it: HPA axis dysregulation, inflammation, disrupted sleep. Helping you recover from survival mode and move towards thriving.
3. BEHAVIORAL CHANGE COACHING
Bridging the gap between knowing what you should do and actually being able to do it consistently. Working WITH your stress-impaired executive function, not against it.WHAT MAKES THIS DIFFERENT
- ✓ Available 24/7 - when crisis hits at 3am, not in 18 months
- ✓ Affordable - fraction of the cost per therapy session
- ✓ No barriers - no scheduling conflicts, no childcare coordination required
- ✓ Evidence-based - informed by peer-reviewed research on caregiver stress
- ✓ Holistic - addresses mental AND physical health simultaneously
- ✓ Practical - designed for exhausted parents with zero spare capacity
- ✓ Private - your health data belongs to YOUWHO THIS IS FOR
Parents and carers of children with special needs who:
- Face systemic barriers to their own wellbeing
- Are too exhausted to navigate complex healthcare systems
- Need support that works around their child's needs, not despite them
- Recognize their own health is critical to their child's wellbeingWHERE WE ARE NOW
CURRENTLY IN RESEARCH PHASE
We're working WITH parent carer networks, healthcare professionals, and behavioural scientists to validate this approach before building anything.We refuse to build another app that gets deleted.Your input will directly shape what we create.WHY THIS MATTERS
When you can't regulate your own nervous system, you cannot effectively co-regulate your child's emotions. The stress destroying your health impacts your ability to provide the care your child needs.
- This isn't about "optimization" or "performance."
- This is about survival. Then eventually, thriving.You're not broken. The system is.Let's build something better - together.GET INVOLVED
Join our research by signing up to our Substack (our mailing list)
Help us build support that actually works.

The Problem

THE CAREGIVER CRISIS NO ONE'S ADDRESSING

You're carrying combat-level stress without combat-level support systems.
Research published in the Journal of Developmental and Behavioural Paediatrics
found that parents of children with special needs have stress hormone profiles
comparable to combat soldiers.But here's what makes it worse:
• ⚡ Sleep deprivation fragments your ability to think clearly or make good decisions
• 🧠 Chronic cortisol dysregulation causes brain fog when you need clarity most
• 💊 HPA axis dysregulation makes your body unable to distinguish real threats from daily stress
• 🔥 Elevated inflammation (CRP) increases your risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer, etc.
• ⚠️ Executive function impairment prevents you from following through on self-care consistently - even when you know what you ‘should’ be doing
• 📋 The system's solution? "Practice self-care better" while offering long waiting lists and/or huge bills for much needed helpTHE BIOLOGICAL REALITY
This isn't in your head - This is measurable, biological damage:
• Stress hormones comparable to soldiers in active combat zones
• Cellular aging accelerated by 9-17 years (shortened telomeres)
• Elevated inflammation markers (C-reactive protein) linked to chronic disease
• HPA axis dysregulation - your stress response system is broken
• Disrupted sleep architecture - even when you sleep, your body doesn't rest
• Compromised immune function - making you more vulnerable to illnessYour body has been hijacked by survival mode!And unlike combat soldiers, you don't get:
• ❌Mandatory mental health screenings
• ❌ Structured decompression protocols
• ❌ Trauma-informed care systems
• ❌ Recognition that your biology has been alteredYou get waiting lists and advice to "make yourself a priority."THE SYSTEM BARRIERS
Even when you know you need help, the system creates impossible barriers:FREE TO ACCESS BARRIERS (NHS):
• Long waiting lists for therapy
• Inconvenient appointments slots
• Low continuity – risk of different therapists each time
• Generic advice that doesn't understand your realityPRIVATE THERAPY BARRIERS:
• High costs per session (unaffordable on strained family budgets)
• Still requires scheduling during your already impossible day
• Still requires childcare you don't havePRACTICAL BARRIERS:
• No respite care to attend appointments
• All advocacy energy consumed fighting for your child
• Too exhausted to research what help even exists
• Social isolation - friends don't understand and distance themselvesTHE CRUEL PARADOX
The stress destroying your health makes it biologically harder to access the support you need.When your prefrontal cortex is impaired by chronic stress:
→ You can't make good decisions about prioritizing yourself
→ You can't maintain discipline for health routines
→ You can't think clearly enough to seek help effectivelyWhen your HPA axis is dysregulated:
→ Exercise feels punishing instead of rejuvenating
→ Your appetite signals break (skip meals or stress eat)
→ Your sleep-wake cycle is destroyedYour biology is working against you.THE IMPACT ON YOUR CHILD
Here's why your wellbeing isn't selfish - it's essential:When you can't regulate your own nervous system, you cannot effectively
co-regulate your child's emotions or care for their well-being as effectively as you couldYour dysregulated stress response directly impacts:
- Your patience during meltdowns
- Your ability to stay calm when they're dysregulated
- Your capacity to be present and engaged
- Your physical health to keep providing care long-termThe system expects you to pour from an empty cup - while telling you the cup being empty is your fault.WHY TRADITIONAL SOLUTIONS FAIL YOU
• THERAPY: Requires time, money, and childcare you don't have. Generic CBT doesn't address the unique challenges of special needs parenting.
• WELLNESS APPS: Give you meditation tracks and gratitude journals while ignoring the biological damage chronic stress has caused.
• MEDICATION: Your doctor offers antidepressants or "reduce your stress" – without acknowledging your stress isn't optional.
• SUPPORT GROUPS: Offer community (valuable!) but not the clinical intervention needed to address the biological and psychological damage.YOU DIDN'T CHOOSE THIS STRESS.
• Your child didn't choose their challenges.
• You didn't choose the system failures.
• You didn't choose the biological consequences.But you're living with all of it and deserve access to real help!
• You deserve support as sophisticated as your challenges.
• You deserve solutions that address BOTH the biology AND the psychology.
• You deserve accessibility when you need it - not in 18 months.That's what we're building!

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About BioSymm Technologies

Building the Support System Special Needs Parents/Carers Deserve!

WHO WE ARE
BioSymm Technologies is a UK-based health technology company founded in 2025 to address the caregiver wellbeing crisis affecting special needs families.Ours isn't a typical start-up story - it is deeply personal.WHY WE EXIST
Lead founder, Ricky Du Plessis, is a father of a child with special needs, but before this he had already developed an obsession with metabolic health. Armed with this knowledge and contrasting it with his first-hand experience in special needs childcare (especially, watching his wife endure the struggles as primary carer) led Ricky to refuse to accept this is "just how it is."If research shows these parents/carers have stress comparable to combat soldiers, why don't they receive combat-level support systems?And so providing this support has become Ricky’s personal mission!BioSymm exists to build that support - accessible, affordable, and available when families need it.OUR COMMITMENT
Research-Led Development
We're in research phase, working WITH parent carer networks and healthcare professionals to validate our approach before building anything. We refuse to create another solution that fails in reality.Evidence-Based Foundation
Our approach is grounded in peer-reviewed research on caregiver stress, metabolic psychiatry, and AI-delivered therapeutic intervention - not wellness trends or biohacking fads.Privacy-First
Your health data belongs to YOU. Not sold. Not shared. Not used to train models for others. Period.Accessibility-Focused
Affordable pricing and 24/7 availability aren't "nice to have" features - they're fundamental to actually serving this community.Community-Shaped
Your input determines what we build and how it works. This is being designed WITH special needs parents, not FOR them from a distance.WHERE WE ARE NOW
Currently in research phase, seeking input from parents, carers, healthcare professionals, and organizations serving special needs families.THIS ISN'T ANOTHER WELLNESS APP
We're building clinical-grade support for families facing a system-level crisis.One family at a time. Starting with the foundation that actually matters: helping parents survive and build resilience.Help us build it right.

Meet the Team

Four visionaries - One mission - Zero compromise!We didn't build this team to launch a start-up - We built it to solve a crisis.When you combine clinical psychology, medical expertise, AI innovation, and the lived experience of special needs parenting - you get a team that understands both what the research says AND what actually works in the chaos of real life.That's what these families deserve.

Stop Accepting The Status Quo

You Deserve Better Than This:
• Enough 3am panic wondering how you'll survive tomorrow.
• Enough choosing between your wellbeing and your child's therapy costs.
• Enough being told to "practice self-care" while facing long waiting lists.
• Enough guilt for struggling with things the system claims should be "simple."
• Enough functioning on empty while being blamed for not "making yourself a priority."
• Enough accepting this is just "part of special needs parenting."It's not and it shouldn't be.You're Here Because Something Has to Change
• Not after the next IEP meeting.
• Not when things "calm down" (they won't).
• Not someday when you "have more time."Now.But you're done with solutions that:
• Require appointments you can't attend without childcare you don't have
• Cost crazy amounts per session when your budget is already strained
• Offer generic advice that ignores your impossible reality
• Tell you what to do without understanding why you can't do it
• Pathologize your stress instead of addressing the systemic barriersWe're Building the Support You DeserveAI-powered therapeutic support that provides:
• Immediate crisis assistance when you need it (3am, meltdowns, overwhelming moments)
• Education on how stress affects your biology and why metabolic health matters for both your mental & physical health
• Practical coaching that works WITH your stress-impaired executive functionBut we're building it WITH you – not FOR you from a distance.Your input determines whether this actually helps or becomes another deleted app.So, this Is Your Invitation:
• Not to buy something
• Not to back a campaign.But to join our research community and to help us build support that actually works.WHAT RESEARCH PARTICIPATION INVOLVES:
✅ Share your honest experience - What barriers prevent you from accessing support?
✅ Shape what gets built - Your feedback directly influences design decisions
✅ Keep it real - We need truth, not politeness. What would actually help you?
✅ Invest what time you can - short surveys, optional discussions, feedback at your pace
✅ Get early access - First to use the actual product when it's ready
✅ Optional community - Connect with other parents facing similar challenges (if you want)This isn't about being an "early adopter."
It's about ensuring we build something that works in your real, messy, overwhelming life.The Support Gap Ends Here
• You didn't choose this stress.
• Your child didn't choose their challenges.
• You didn't choose the system failures.But you can choose to help build better support.

• Join Our Cause Today

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