Anything is possible

I read with interest the story on Jeffery March, the young man with Aspergers Syndrome who has successfully passed his driving test.

Well done for persevering. My own grandson, who also has Aspergers Syndrome, passed his driving test at the first attempt when he was 19 years old. It is not the condition which prevents people with Aspergers from achieving, as can be seen from the instructors who refused to teach Jeffery, but the attitude and discrimination from those who do not understand the condition, which holds them back from achieving their potential.

My grandson was told to leave Hertfordshire University, where he was studying, because the university said having Aspergers meant that he was permanently unfit for work or study, classing him as disabled. He was not offered any help, despite being academically able. Two years later, following advice and action from the National Autistic Association, their solicitor and his consultant, my grandson is settled in another university, where he has had to start his study course again, has started a local neurodisability group, spoken at meetings and hopes to qualify to work with people with learning disabilities himself next year. Had he accepted Hertfordshire University's opinion, he would have been on disability benefits for the rest of his life, not studying to become an active member of society.

It is important that people are encouraged to achieve their potential, for themselves and for society, and that there is much that people with Aspergers Syndrome can do. If your child or grandchild has this condition, encourage them to aim for the moon, because as someone famous once said, even if they miss, they can reach the stars. In this day and age, people and institutions in power should not still be able to disable people by using their power to condemn them based on a diagnosis when they do not know that person's potential.

Mrs Elizabeth Beskine, Proud Grandmother, Hawthorn Hill, Letchworth Garden City