The following article, written by Lesley Midda, a parent of one of Langdon's residents, recently appeared in 'Alonim', the magazine for South West Essex and Settlement Reform Synagogue

All parents have high expectations of their children.  Bradley’s language skills had taken a long time to develop. He didn’t make any eye contact and failed to interact with his peers. The obsessions, the need to plan ahead and the anxiety when routines were changed, were all things that we had been dealing with for some years.  When Bradley was nine years old, we were given a shaky diagnosis of Aspergers’Syndrome, and things fell into place. Bradley’s schools did their best, but in a mainstream setting, there was a limit to the help they could give him. Being statemented, he was allocated extra resources to support him, but these were limited and both his primary and secondary schools were often at a loss as to how best these resources should be used.  Whilst schools cope well with physical and learning disabilities, Bradley had neither.  Academically, he was bright, but his problems were social. Often he was fine in a well structured class, but difficulties arose at other times, such as when walking from one class to another or at break times. Bradley perceived friendship as a sign of normality, but he had no idea how to make friends, so often drew attention to himself , sometimes inappropriately, invading people’s personal space. Young people don’t understand such behaviour and Bradley was pretty much ostracised, when he wasn’t being bullied. The heartbreak this brought to us as a family was very real. We only want to see our children happy, but he was becoming increasingly distressed.  His younger sister sometimes felt humiliated by Bradley’s behaviour, especially when she was among her own friends.  Bradley managed to obtain some GCSE’s although his unhappiness distracted him from his work, which was often in isolation from his peer group. Then we found Langdon College in Manchester. This is a residential college for Jewish youngsters with moderate learning difficulties. Bradley went to visit and was immediately excited about going there.  Apart from the varied work they do, young people are encouraged to socialise - outings and activities are arranged very regularly. They either live in flats or shared houses and are encouraged to be independent by cooking, cleaning, and taking care of the laundry, etc. They are also risk assessed for going out and about on their own, something we were too nervous to allow Bradley to do while he was living with us.  Our LEA funded Bradley for three years and with the support of Langdon he undertook an AVCE qualification in Leisure and Tourism at Hopwood Hall College in Bury. During this course, a graduate came to speak to the students about university life and Bradley immediately decided that he wanted some of this too. We were a little apprehensive, but he researched the information himself, made the applications and earned himself a place at Salford University. He embraced university life, joining the ski team, several groups and committees and even standing for Vice President. Bradley often found things difficult. On occasions he would call us up very stressed and we would have to reason with him and calm him down, but most parents experience this at times with their children when they’re finding their way in the world. Part of Bradley’s university course was undertaking work experience at the Marriott Hotel. He has continued with this in a part time paid capacity and is now looking to increase his working hours. The best news of all was when we recently heard that Bradley had achieved a BA hons in Leisure and Tourism Management. He is one of a few Langdon students to graduate from University and attending his graduation ceremony was the icing on the cake for all of us. Langdon has allowed Bradley and many other students to achieve their full potential, by giving them confidence and independence. They are encouraged to gain life transforming skills and qualifications to make a positive contribution to the Jewish Community and to wider society. If you know a young person who may benefit from Langdon, please feel free to call 0161 740 5900 to speak with Chris Mayo, Principal of the College. Langdon also runs a Parent’s Ambassadors Scheme, so if you wish to speak with me, Lesley Midda,  about our own experience, please feel free to do so, in confidence – 020 8559 1649