SEN Travel Assistance

my name is Jamie I'm 17 you will and I go to college before I did travel training mom and dad took me in the car and I went to school and I didn't really have that independence I just thought that high tariffs Asia and North doing homework Jamie is under the autistic spectrum he also suffers with cerebral palsy and he has total sort of lack of coordination within his body without the travel training I wouldn't be able to go to college open that by myself and I would I've got faith loss I saw the tekken cold theater which is bats age lighting sound pop theft I just love the theater is something which really wants to do in the future [Music] hi good morning Jamie have you got your back ready you're just training we were first told about travel training by the outreach department that looks after Jamie during his school years and they suggested that we contact them so that he could have a training program to enable him to be able to make way and get to college independently travel training is an it's a one-to-one program that's up to 12 weeks and it's a person-centered training plan and it's tailored to meet the individuals needs so whether a child has autism whether it's a sensory impairment or a mobility impairment we adjust the training to suitably meet their needs I was sort of nervous because I didn't know how it was gonna be like so it was a whole new experience for me the challenges that Jamie has encountered on his journey to independence is about managing his anxiety and also ensuring that his safe and that he's able to get safely to and from the bus stop [Music] the boss and just check with the driver the destination [Music] it is Falken Falken it was about teaching him coping strategies and also to ask the driver for assistance and be a little bit more assertive and making sure that he sat down safely and near the driver said that he feels confident I had worries that I might miss the shot and I feel like scared that I would know where and I end up the first few weeks the travel trainer was more by your side and they cut it down until they meet you at the college so you can't do it all by yourself from the very first time that Jamie went out with the travel trainer then everything changed and it seemed to really open Jamie's mind up to the outside world the travel training I've made me more independent and they confident this is not just the Jamie this is for the whole family because it's opened up a whole world whereby we now have a son that is more mature more independent and is more eager to do things in the travel training program isn't just an A to B journey it's actually a much bigger step and process and that these are life skills and they're transferable skills so the idea is with the travel training they learn their route to and from their place of Education and then they can apply those skills to other routes and other places of interest it might be that they go to a theatre school it might be that they go to the gym so there's lots of opportunities that are open to them the next week I want to plant is go and to a West End theater [Music] I'm a Shakur and I'm 15 years old I'm in year 11 at school and I'm studying triple science sociology history in Spanish I have a visual impairment it's called Leber's congenital amaurosis and it just means I'm a bit sensitive to light and I can't really see things distant it always been that you were quite different from everyone else because I had to walk with a cane it just makes you stand out a bit before I started trouble training I used to get chauffeured home so I got in a car and then was driven all the way home just didn't really like it that much I couldn't really hang around after school I just had to come straight out and meet the escort when I used to go out with my friends before the trouble training it was a bit difficult because it took a lot of organizing like there had to be an adult or one of my parents there just to make sure that everything was okay i felt quite restricted because i really wanted to just be with my friends alone I came across travel training when we were thinking about our choucas transition to secondary school [Music] Oishi cuz route to school isn't a straightforward five-minute journey and there's lots of danger zones I think along the way there's two main roads and they're particularly busy at school times so I was concerned about her being able to negotiate those crossings but they felt she was ready that she was in fact leading them so that really reassured me that she could participate in that program and that she could be successful well first she and walked with me the whole way but she didn't tell me where to go she was kind of following me I'll tell me what other things that you need to be looking out for what the dangers and their risks are crossing a busy road [Music] she met me at certain points in the journey further away from the school each time when I started I was quite scared but as I did it more I became more confident so you don't have to be a really confident person to start it eventually I did it all by myself [Music] what I really want for her is to be independent and be able to travel in the same way as and her peer group really so to be able to do those things comfortably and safely and from em for me to know that she's safe as well I think it's important as long as our chica has the right tools and other aides and things that will help her that I think yeah I think I think she'll be okay [Music] after my GCSEs I want to go on what to do a levels I guess it would make it a lot more difficult to do the things that I want to do like go to university if I had another trouble training I think I wouldn't be as confident as I was now cuz it does really help you with your confidence as well as your independence now I've had my trouble training I feel like I can do the same things that my friends are able to do [Music] [Music] [Applause] everyone left this way and smiling for me one two three the first time I went to school on my own it was that was the the most important thing just getting used to the surroundings and the landmarks and stuff like that good evening we the days where I learned to travel to school on my own independently without my parents probably the days and the moments where I learnt the most in my life you know as where you bond with your friends it's where you build up your confidence what red bridge of doing here with the independent travel training is absolutely crucial when you have a disability one of the things that's really hard to get to grips with them really frustrating is that a lot of your choices can be taken away from you people can assume that you need help you need to be given assistance to get to places but when you're given this skill it just opened so many doors I think - go and Jamie this is the beginning of the rest of their lives because every day in your life you have to make some sort of journey and for me to be able to give them awards today is this brilliant I've always just wanted to see every child out there to have that freedom freedom to be able to do what they want and them that's what the travel training is doing I think to succeed we all need to find a passion something we love doing anything and when you find it you need to be brave enough to make that dream happen [Music] you