A Wallsend family is fighting to put years of trauma behind them and improve how schools support those with ADHD after Cole Middler "fell through the cracks".
Cole, now 17, and mum Kelly are set to take on a zipline challenge over the river Tyne to raise money for charity the ADHD Foundation - to thank the charity for the role its played in transforming Cole's life. It took until Cole was excluded from school at 13 for him to even get diagnosed with the condition.
Since then, after getting in touch with the charity and even sending them heart-rending poems he had written about his experiences in mainstream education settings which couldn't adapt to support people who are neurodiverse, Cole has been involved speaking at conferences and supported by charity chief exec Dr Tony Lloyd.
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Cole told ChronicleLive : "Over the last year or so I have been working with the ADHD Foundation. And we've been trying to find something to do to raise money as a thank you. I love heights but mum is terrified.
"Their work is really important - especially after the experiences I had in mainstream education. I really didn't have the best time. Thanks to the support from the ADHD Foundation, my confidence has gone up massively."
Mum Kelly added: "Since Cole's diagnosis, it's really brought him out of his shell. Now he's been talking to other kids to tell them how they can succeed and not to give up on themselves. He's working with Dr Lloyd to try and change things in schools. He's always said he doesn't want kids to go through what he did."
Looking back, the family had a number of difficulties accessing the support Cole needed - and Kelly said that this was typical of a society which is not built to support neurodiverse people. She said: "Cole had a number of issues with his mental health when he was in mainstream schooling. It took us so many years to get him the right help. It took until he was excluded frim school at age 13 for him to get a diagnosis."
She explained how Cole's mental health had suffered, adding: "It was a really frightening time. I wrote to the MP, the Health Secretary. He was in a really bad place.
"But he went into a Pupil Referral Unit and they were absolutely fantastic with him. They found him a way of working that suited him. We always knew he was bright but he was being able to be what he could be. At the time he had written some poems about how he was feeling. Obviously for a mum that was pretty harrowing to read."
One of Cole's poems is titled 'Abandoned' - and sees Cole write of feeling "abandoned, adrift and alone" and of "anger rising in me like a volcano" as he struggled to deal with his neurodiversity during his schooling.
Kelly added: "The charity and Dr Lloyd are fighting to get the system changed to better account for neurodiversity. The biggest problem is just getting schools to understand these are bright and can go on to do fantastic things but they can get left by the wayside."
Kelly and Cole are taking on the zipwire challenge on August 29. To support their fundraising for the ADHD Foundation, visit here.
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