Aryan is our loving, energetic and affectionate little boy. He has a beautiful personality, a strong sense of curiosity and brings so much joy to our family. He is also autistic and has significant communication and understanding difficulties.

At the moment, Aryan is preverbal. He can repeat words and phrases through echolalia, but he is not yet able to use speech consistently to tell us what he wants, what he needs, how he feels or when something is wrong.

As his parents, one of our biggest hopes is simply for Aryan to have a reliable way to communicate.

For most families, hearing their child say things such as “I’m hungry”, “I’m hurt”, “Help me” or “I want Mum” may seem like ordinary moments. For us, they would mean everything.

Because Aryan cannot yet communicate his needs clearly, everyday life can be very difficult and frustrating for him. We often have to work out what he is trying to tell us from his behaviour, expressions and the small ways he communicates. When we do not understand, he can become extremely distressed.

Aryan also has sensory processing difficulties, can become overwhelmed by noise and busy environments, and has very little awareness of danger. This makes communication even more important. Being able to understand instructions, ask for help, tell us when he is scared or uncomfortable, and express what he needs could make a huge difference to both his safety and his independence.

His communication difficulties affect almost every part of his life — learning, playing with other children, making choices, managing frustration and taking part in everyday family activities.

We have already arranged a private speech and language therapy assessment for Aryan and would now like to give him access to regular specialist therapy. Unfortunately, accessing consistent support through NHS services can involve very long waiting times (already having been on the waiting list for Speech Therapy for over a year and half), and we do not want to lose any more valuable time during these important early years of his development, especially as he will now be going to school as well.

This is why we are fundraising with Tree of Hope.

The money raised will help fund Aryan’s private speech and language therapy and the ongoing specialist support he needs to develop functional communication. It will also help us as his family learn the best ways to support him at home so that the work continues beyond each therapy session.

For Aryan, “finding his voice” does not necessarily mean spoken words alone. What matters most is that he has a way to express himself. This could include speech, visual communication, AAC, or a combination of approaches that suits him best.

Our goal is not to change who Aryan is. We want to give him the tools to communicate, reduce his frustration, help him feel understood and give him more opportunities to connect with the people around him.

We are a family with two young children and we are doing everything we can to support Aryan, but regular private therapy is a significant ongoing cost for us.

Every donation, no matter the amount, will help give Aryan more opportunities to learn, communicate and become more independent.

If you are able to support Aryan’s journey by donating or sharing his story, we would be incredibly grateful.

Thank you for helping us give Aryan the chance to find his voice.

7.5% of all donations to Tree of Hope in relation to this appeal will be allocated to the general charitable purposes of Tree of Hope to cover our core operating costs.

If we raise insufficient funds, or surplus funds, then the funds will be used, if appropriate, to fund support for our child’s needs in accordance with Tree of Hope’s charitable objects. If in those circumstances we are unable to use all or part of the funds for the benefit of our child in accordance with Tree of Hope’s charitable objectives, then any funds that cannot be used will be transferred to be used for the general charitable purposes of Tree of Hope.