Alexander Warren has additional support needs (ASN). He uses his experience to deliver ASN training and workshops to organisations and recently gave a speech at the Scottish Parliament in support of the newly launched Principles of Good Transitions 3.

I offer training and consultancy work to organisations working with people with additional support needs. I focus on person centred planning and inspiring young people to achieve their dreams.

I have delivered training and workshops for organisations such as Enquire, Association for Real Change (ARC) Scotland and Enable.

But if you had met me when I was little you would never have believed I would go on to do what I do.

I was born on the 23 October 1988, 18 weeks early, weighing 535grams, about half the weight of a bag of sugar. I was in intensive care for 15 months. Sometimes my heart and breathing stopped completely and it would take five minutes to get me going again.

At the age of one I could breathe through a tube in my neck but I couldn’t make any sounds except a “quack”. Only my mum and dad or a specially trained nurse could look after me and a doctor said I would never walk, talk, read or write.

Despite this start in life I went on to attend Willowpark Special School, in Gorgie, Edinburgh. It was a long struggle. The school gave me lots of help with reading, writing and numbers, and although I could talk by then thanks to an operation I had, I was very unclear and only a few people could understand what I was saying. I also had very weak legs and poor balance so would often fall over.

I managed to pass all my exams even though I was diagnosed with severe dyslexia but by the time I was 15, I was very depressed and felt very excluded from the real world.

I tried a couple of college courses but didn’t manage to finish them as I couldn't manage the written work.

Feeling disillusioned, I took a break from college and did a six month internship learning to be a development worker at Edinburgh Development Group (EDG), a charity which works with people who have learning difficulties as well as their families. This changed my life completely.

Working at EDG gave me inspiration to think I could do more and I went back to college to study drama. I was given a person centred plan, which is an approach designed to assist someone to plan their life and support, and my first year was brilliant! My mum said there was a real change in me. I learned the route for getting to college and I had a real bond with everyone. I was juggling college and some work with EDG and my teachers believed in me and took chances on me. They really inspired me and gave me the confidence to make my next move which brings us up to the present day where I offer training and talks across Scotland on my journey.

Recently I gave a speech at the Scottish Parliament in support of the newly launched Principles of Good Transitions 3. It is a framework which is used to help young people with additional support needs and was compiled on behalf of Scottish Transitions Forum members by the Association for Real Change Scotland.

I talked about my own experience of making the move into adulthood and how being supported to pursue my dreams helped me to find a career I love. My hope is that the launch of Principles of Good Transitions 3 will help other young people get the advice and help they need when thinking about what they want to do in the future. Making the move into adulthood is daunting, so to know that there is a framework like this in place is very reassuring.

To find out more about Principles of Good Transitions 3 visit scottishtransitions.org.uk..