Earlier this year, my son Noah was diagnosed as having an autistic spectrum disorder. Autism is poorly understood. Put simply autistic people experience the world very differently to neuro-typical people.

Depending on where they exist on the spectrum, autistic people will either be over or under sensitive to the world around them. This makes it hard for them to relate to their surroundings, people and situations. 

Autism is in many instances, manageable. However, it requires patience, understanding and time - assets which are increasingly rare in our modern world. And sadly this is true of educational provision for autistic children.

The state's capacity and ability to help is limited, not just by budgets, but by conventional classroom environments. Teachers worried about meeting grade targets, are forced to focus on the children who can determine whether targets are met. Left to fend for themselves in an environment they struggle to comprehend with little one-to-one support, autistic children, their latent and acute talents are rarely harnessed or enhanced. And my what talents autistic people are!

Woody Allen, Susan Boyle, Tim Burton, Bill Gates and Sir Anthony Hopkins are either thought to be or have openly confessed to being on the spectrum. Figures from history thought to be on the spectrum include Hans Christian Andersen, Lewis Carroll, Charles Darwin, Emily Dickinson, Albert Einstein, Steve Jobs, James Joyce, Michelangelo, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Sir Isaac Newton, Ludwig Wittgenstein and Andy Warhol.

It is both tragic and a sign of the times that because we are myopically focused on meeting arbitrary targets, our system may be letting some of the best and the brightest minds go to waste.

We are doing our best to support him through private treatment and therapies, however, from an educational perspective the best provision he can receive in the immediacy comes through a charity - specifically Grove Cottage. 

Grove Cottage provides social and educational activities for people of all ages with learning disabilities: to develop their potential, avoid social isolation by supporting lifelong friendships and; to provide respite for their families.

Grove Cottage was set up in 1966 by a group of parents to provide lifelong support for their children; to offer a safe environment to engage in a variety of activities to maximise each individuals potential.

It costs over £250,000 per year to run Grove Cottage and its programme of events.

They do not receive any funding from Mencap and could not exist without the support of the community.

For fifty years, this incredible organisation has provided support for those most in need. Let's keep it going for the next fifty too!

I am not looking to raise a specific amount. Life has afforded me some amazing opportunities, some wonderful connections and networks. However, none of that would have been possible without the right support and opportunities education can provide. This is everyone's birthright and should not be hindered before their lives have even begun. 

With your help, I hope that we can help Grove Cottage to a sum which will alleviate some of their fundraising burden, allow Noah and other children the opportunity to thrive and have a laugh at how ridiculously unfit I've become.