Debby Elley

Debby Elley is mum to teenage autistic twins, Alec and Bobby. Alec is pre-verbal and has learning difficulties. He attends a specialist school. Bobby attends mainstream college.

Debby grew up in Birmingham and has enjoyed a varied career, working in public relations, broadcasting, training and regional newspapers. Ten years ago, together with speech and language therapist Tori Houghton, she launched AuKids magazine, a positive parenting magazine for families of autistic children.

In 2018 Debby published 15 Things They Forgot To Tell You About Autism. Her aim in writing the book was to gather together some accumulated wisdom into a light-hearted but informative package which she hopes will be helpful to anyone living with or caring for a young person with autism. It also includes some valuable advice on staying sane. Debby’s other hobbies include trashing autism myths and demystifying the awful jargon that surrounds autism. In 2020, Debby and Tori's book The Ice Cream Sundae Guide to Autism, written for children, was published and quickly became an Amazon best-seller. The book is designed not only for autistic children, but for families and peer groups, and is a popular teaching resource.