'People have always doubted me but that has made me want to achieve things even more'

WHEN Nicholas Fearn was given the diagnosis of Asperger's, part of autism spectrum disorder, he had already endured years of bullying by his peers and struggled at school with his work.

- JOANNE RIDOUT

Aged just 14, it would have seemed impossible for him to believe that by the age of 29 he had built a successful career as a freelance journalist writing for top international publications, with his own home, and a social media channel that would be inspiring thousands of followers.

Nick says: "When I was bullied I didn't tell my parents and maybe with my conditions I downplayed it a lot but at the time in the first mainstream school it was hard. In their defence I don't think the teachers had been trained in autism so they saw me more as a disruptive kid.

"My parents fought hard to be moved over to the new school and get extra support and because my education had been so disrupted I was put into the bottom set for everything."

One of the best methods Nick found to cope with the stress was to write, and he set up his own blog firstly creating content about mobile phones and then branching out into wider technology.

He says: "I remember the head of English in the new school coming across my blog at the time and she moved me up to the top set and mentored me in the subject.

"If it wasn't for this teacher I probably would have still been in the bottom set, I wouldn't have done A-levels, or gone to university and I wouldn't be working, my life would have been completely different, probably living in my parents' box room."

Over the years Nick, from Neath, has written technically based articles for top media such as the Financial Times, New York Post, Forbes and Business Insider, and credits his career to his parents' continuing support as well as the teacher who believed in him.

Nick adds: "This English teacher, Mrs Griffiths, I can see she likes my articles when I post links on Facebook and so I hope she knows how much impact she has had on my life."