Meet Alyssia, our new Expert by Experience

Published September 2026

In this blog post, Alyssia shares a little about herself, talks openly about the challenges she's faced in education and explains her motivation in becoming a SEND Expert by Experience.

About me

Hello. My name is Alyssia and I am 19 years old. I was born with a severe vision impairment, meaning that I can only see light and colour. Currently, I am studying Law at university. As well as this, I am a member of youth groups at various vision impairment charities, where I work with other young people to advocate for vision impaired people on a variety of issues. I have recently become a SEND Expert by Experience at Hertfordshire County Council.

My experience at school and barriers to education

My experience in mainstream education was pretty mixed, and unfortunately, I faced a lot of barriers to my education. I found studying visual subjects like maths and science particularly difficult, due to the amount of diagrams and complex content I was working with. I felt that these subjects didn’t align well with my style of learning and my needs as a blind learner, which frequently left me feeling frustrated, incapable, and like I didn’t belong. At the time, I wanted to work in science, however due to my challenges studying the subject and the inaccessibility of the curriculum, I felt that this was no longer possible for me.

Some of my teachers didn’t know how to support me, and didn’t think I would be able to succeed in their subject. Teachers frequently didn’t send resources to my vision impairment team ahead of time to be made accessible, or would say that certain parts of the course would be too difficult to teach me, even though I was academically capable. This all negatively effected my mental health, and sometimes made coming into school a chore.

Things (and people) that helped

Despite all of this, I really loved learning. I had several teachers, teaching assistants, and vision impairment professionals who not only helped me overcome these challenges (by, for example, explaining visual content in a way I could understand) but were always encouraging and supportive.

Some of these teachers created a life-long love for their subject in me, and the professionals from my vision impairment team went above and beyond to support me. They always ensured that subject material was accessible, and enabled me to be as independent as possible in lessons. This gave me the confidence and the desire to move on to further, and then higher education and I would not have been able to complete my education without them.

Why become an Expert by Experience?

I became an Expert by Experience because I feel that education is far more than a number on an exam-results slip – it provides students with the skills and confidence to progress in their lives. An accessible school experience means that young people with disabilities can feel empowered to achieve their goals and get a career that they love, despite the challenges they may face.

My own experiences show me that unfortunately, the system still needs to come a long way before it truly works for every student.

As an Expert by Experience, I want to use my own experiences to bring about positive change for disabled young people, so that school is a place where they can thrive, feel like they belong, and achieve their dreams.

Thank you to Alyssia for her openness and honesty in writing this blog. We are very pleased to have her in the team, and know that the experience she brings will help make a difference for children and young people in Hertfordshire with SEND.

Could you be an Expert by Experience?

Roles for the Experts by Experience are usually advertised in the Summer term. Keep an eye on the SEND Newsletter and our social media channels for updates and opportunities to apply.