Rene completed his Independent Travel Training in Lambeth this year – and is now out and about independently. Talking about his Independent Travel Training experience, Rene said: ‘Before travel training I went to school in a taxi so I couldn’t do clubs after school. Now I’m more independent – I can go out where and when I want to. I feel really positive, I concentrate more and I feel focussed. ‘Now, I go to a drama club on Saturdays and then catch the bus to meet my mum at church. I go with one of my friends to church youth club. I’m learning to play guitar and I sing with the group. ‘In the future I want to live on my own in an apartment and learn to drive. I will have to pay bills. I need to work for money so that I can have a family, and then we can go on holidays to many places that I’ve never been to.

‘If I hadn’t done travel training I couldn’t go to the clubs after college, or to any other places. I would be at home.’ Rene’s parent has also seen the impact, saying: ‘I was worried about the training, I worried he would get hurt. So I kept him close for protection. When the travel training coordinator came to my house and I met the travel trainers I felt very reassured, they kept me up to date with his progress, I was happy with the work. ‘To other parents I would say that I was reassured by the information from the travel training team, and I would recommend it to other people. Rene is so confident and he can do so many different things. It’s been very good for him.’