Hi, my name is Amy - I'm Mum to Teilo, who is taking his next steps in education to attend College. He has chosen to study Digital Media Production.

Teilo's education journey has been challenging in terms of obstacles he's had to overcome, due to his Autism and ADHD and certain settings unable to meet his needs. His primary years were interrupted due to the school ls unwillingness to make extra provisions for Teilo - such as extra time to complete tasks, or working alongside a 1-1. He was also out of education for a whole academic year due to clerical errors, waiting times, and suitable schools being full when he started his middle school education. When he did finally get granted a place in Year 7, he was subject to extreme bullying.

He then attended a specialist setting who were accepting of his needs, but couldn't help him catch up enough on his education.

Despite this adversity, and his low economic background, Teilo rose to the challenges he faced and I am very proud of him and admire his resilience greatly. He managed to sit for his GCSE core subjects (something not many of his classmates were able to do) and was 1 mere mark away from achieving a pass - and when you consider his history, plus Covid, well I just think that's amazing.

Teilo has an aptitude for the course he is taking, and is a very creative child, which as parents we support as much as possible.

Teilo was hoping to get a job this year to support some of his goals - he turned 16 in January - but had another obstacle in his way - which ended up requiring surgery. He suffered from recurring infections due to botched surgery and poor medical aftercare. The physical limitations of this and the recovery time after the second attempt at surgery, meant he wasn't able to find something (and the very limited job market for 16 year olds)

As his parents, we planned to save money for a laptop for him, but my husband was hit by a car in May of this year. As someone who is self emplyed in the music industry, his income dropped to zero, which means since then, we've been living on my part time wage alone, as my husband has required reconstructive surgery on his shoulder. It's been tough, and any savings made have had to be used for normal living expenses.

Teilo however, has saved as much as possible and has some starting money he put aside himself.

I am very proud of Teilo's resilience, strength, and determination, and his desire and keenness to take the next steps are something to admire.

His chosen College have a very limited supply of laptops for loaning to pupils, and we have been warned he may not end up with access to one.

I would welcome any support for Teilo, so he can purchase a new laptop which will serve him for the next few years of his education.