Our goal is to give my brother the celebration he deserves after being excluded from his school prom.

My brother has been through more in his young life than most people could ever imagine. During high school he suffered a devastating, life-threatening bike accident where he fractured his skull and suffered a bleed on the brain. He nearly lost his life and had to undergo major surgery, leaving him with a metal plate in his head and long-term effects from the trauma.

Over the years, the injury affected the emotional side of his brain, causing him to become easily frustrated and struggle with emotional regulation. He later also received a diagnosis of autism, which can make it difficult for him to process situations, regulate emotions, and communicate how he is feeling at times. Despite these challenges, he has worked incredibly hard to rebuild his confidence, manage his emotions, and continue through school with support from CAMHS and those around him.

Sadly, throughout many of his key school years, he often felt misunderstood rather than properly supported. Behaviours that have been proven by professionals to be connected to his brain injury and autism were too often viewed simply as “bad behaviour” instead of signs that he needed understanding and support. Even through all of this, he still showed up, kept going, and successfully completed all 5 years of high school and most recently completed all of his GCSE exams which this time last year before his autism diagnosis we weren't sure if that would be possible for him to do, but with the confidence he has gained from the proper support he has now been given from his EHCP he did! And that in itself we believe should be celebrated.

That is exactly why this hurts so much.

Recently, his school made the decision to refuse him attendance at his Year 11 prom - there reasoning being they cannot trust him to follow rules at prom but they are while simultaneously permitting him to attend other leavers’ events, including the leavers assembly, shirt signing, and school celebrations on the last day of school. This directly undermines the claim that he cannot be trusted to behave appropriately.. This has been heartbreaking for him and for our family. Prom is meant to celebrate the end of school, resilience, friendship, growth, and memories made along the way — and after everything he has overcome, we truly believe he deserves to experience that moment too.

We strongly believe that children should not be punished, excluded, or made to feel less worthy because of disabilities, additional needs, or struggles connected to trauma and neurodiversity. Every child deserves compassion, understanding, inclusion, and the chance to celebrate milestones alongside others their age.

Rather than letting this define the end of his school journey, we want to create something special ourselves: a combined prom and 16th birthday celebration surrounded by people who genuinely support and uplift him.

We have hired a function room and we are wanting to organise music, decorations, food, and create a safe, welcoming, and unforgettable evening where he can finally feel included, celebrated, and proud of how far he has come.

We would also love to extend an open invitation to any young people in the Bolton area who may have also not been invited to their school prom due to being misunderstood, or punished for their disabilities. No child should feel alone or forgotten during such an important milestone.

Any donations, no matter how small, would mean the world to us and will go directly towards:

Venue hire

Decorations

DJ/music

Food and drinks

Birthday/prom memories and keepsakes

Creating a special night for young people who deserve to feel included

If you cannot donate, even sharing this page would help massively.

Thank you for taking the time to read his story and for helping us give him — and potentially others — the celebration they truly deserve.