Carol Vorderman has opened up about how her son recently achieved a master's degree despite having "severe learning disabilities" - and now she has urged the government to help others do the same.
Carol Vorderman
The 60-year-old TV presenter is mum to Cameron King, 24, who suffers from severe forms of ADD, dyslexia and ADHD, and Carol is keen to help other families who have shared their "agonising frustration" with her because they believe the country has a system "that doesn’t work for children whose brains or bodies work differently".
Carol said: "My beautiful boy succeeded against the odds - and with your help, other kids with disabilities will too. Many hundreds of parents of children with disabilities have been in touch with me since I revealed Cam’s story on Instagram.
"They told me they cried when they read my son’s news because it was a tale of such hope and joy for them. They have shared our story with their own children.
"But they have also shared the agonising frustration they feel at a system we have in this country that doesn’t work for children whose brains or bodies work differently."
The former 'Countdown' co-host told of how she had to fight for her son's needs and noted that while she was lucky to be able to afford tuition tailored for him, this is not the case for every parent whose child suffers from learning difficulties.
She said: "Parents told me how they have waited years for an assessment of their child’s needs, something that is necessary before building an essential support framework around them.
"I was lucky enough to pay for a special school place for him. I’ve had hundreds of parents contact me who are in exactly the situation we were - with kids who are thrown on the scrapheap - but who cannot afford that."
The TV favourite wants Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak, 41, to take action.
In an article for The Sun newspaper, she wrote: "I urge Chancellor Rishi Sunak to act on this in his autumn Budget.
"Invest in early support for these children and save yourself the cost of young people not achieving their potential and families breaking down in the future."
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