Carol Vorderman has discussed her son’s learning difficulties, saying he was ‘deemed unteachable’ when he was at school.
The former Countdown star revealed earlier this week that her son Cameron had received a master’s degree from Dundee University.
Cameron’s degree was an even bigger achievement in Carol’s eyes due to the struggles he had as a younger student.
Carol, 60, told the Daily Mail it was ‘utterly heartbreaking’ to see Cameron get rejected from schools as a child, saying that her son’s first headteacher told her he would have to leave the school because of his behaviour.
She said: ‘He said Cam was getting into little fights, was disruptive, a trouble-maker, basically. I took him around other schools – six, maybe seven – to see if they would take him, but when they heard the history, they all said no. He was deemed unteachable.’
Describing her son’s special needs, the former I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! campmate said: ‘There are overlapping circles, with severe dyslexia, dyspraxia, ADHD, ADD and autism.
‘Cam has severe dyslexia, ADD and ADHD.’
The proud mum said that after Cameron got his master’s degree ‘thousands of people said what an absolute inspiration he is’.
She added: ‘There are so many Camerons out there. They are the ones I worry about now, and want to help, if I can. No child should be told they are unteachable, because they are not.’
Carol said she ‘could not be prouder of how he has done this, because frankly I didn’t know how it would be possible’, adding: ‘I knew he wasn’t thick, or slow, or any of those things that he and children like him are often told. I always thought he was brilliantly bright. He is.’
Carol shares Cameron, and older daughter Katie, with her former husband Patrick King, who she separated from in 2000.
The star wrote on Instagram: ‘Thank you everyone (without exception🙏🏻) for your incredible support for my son Cameron this week when I told you how he’d achieved his Masters Degree in spite of being born with severe learning difficulties.
‘He, and I, have been deeply affected by that love and support, the first he’s ever received en masse in his life. I’ve kept Cameron’s story very private and protected him like a lioness until he was able to walk his own walk, which he now can. In fact he’s now flying high.
‘So he felt it was time to tell his story because of the hundreds of stories that YOU have told us of your problems as parents or now as adults going through the same thing.
‘Today we’ve spoken for the first time about how he has been taking “concentration tablets” Concerta (a slow release version of Ritalin) since he was 7. They were are still are the miracle drug. I fully expect a backlash from ignorant types who know nothing about how it all works, and I want to say to other parents who might be reading the anti-drug nonsense on the Internet, just as I did years ago, to ignore it. Be advised by the specialist doctors and specialist schools and take a view.
‘Our story is one of love, and hell, and concern and eventually of calm and celebration.’
After Carol shared Cameron’s achievement on social media, he thanked her followers for their support in an Instagram video.
The 23-year-old said: ‘I never thought my actions would mean so much to so many people, in the same way I never thought I would get this far in life, but that’s exactly what pushed me to do it.
‘After being told and shown that I would not be able to achieve anything of significance, I started to believe it, but one emotion stopped me from giving up – spite. The drive to spite all who told me I would fail, but most importantly, to spite myself.’
Prior to his master’s degree, Cameron achieved a bachelor’s degree in animation from UWE Bristol.
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