“We thought ‘this is amazing!’ But then, ‘how do we find the money?'”Jack Wolfenden and his mum, Vicky Cunningham(Image: UGC)

A family is desperately hoping that a pioneering treatment will help a teenager with a rare condition be able to speak – but that treatment is thousands of miles away.

Jack Wolfenden was born with verbal dyspraxia, a rare neurological condition that prevents him from speaking. His family has explored a new treatment that they say will be ‘life-changing’ for Jack, and could even be the key to Jack’s dream of living more independently.

There is only one centre in the world that provides the treatment – located in Mexico. The Bacup family is already saving to pay for the flights, accommodation, insurance and the other costs that will come with the 32-day course of treatment.

But, in the hope that charitable donations might be able to help them surmount the huge figure, they have launched a fundraiser for Jack’s £30,000 treatment at the facility.

Jack’s mum, Vicky Cunningham, says her son relies entirely on his loved ones to communicate for him. The speech disorder means Jack, who also has global developmental delay, can only make basic sounds, and cannot form words.

Jack Wolfenden has verbal dyspraxia(Image: UGC)

She told the Manchester Evening News: “Jack is 16, but mentally more aged eight or nine. Academically, he works at around reception or year 1 level.

“But he’s got the best personality ever – he loves football and is a massive Blackburn Rovers fan. He goes to home and away games. Even though he has no speech, he loves playing tricks on people, loves being silly.

“He still believes in Santa, so Christmas is a really lovely time of year for us. We take him on days out and holidays.

“Often that’s where things can get difficult because Jack clings ono you, especially if there’s more than a couple of people around. He knows that if we get separated, he can’t tell anybody. Mostly, we communicate for him.”

Mum Vicky worries about the impact the condition has on Jack’s siblings, Luke and Gemma. She says: “We always make sure that Jack is having a good time, but that means we have to put ourselves second.

“As a parent, that’s what you sign up for, but for other children it’s quite hard.”

The treatment provided in Mexico, known as cytotron therapy, uses radiofrequency technology to regenerate cells. The treatment is still a developing technology and is still being studied by scientists to look at what kind of results it can realistically provide, with some scientists claiming there is not enough robust scientific evidence to prove that it works.

Jack’s mum hopes a pioneering treatment will help him to speak one day(Image: UGC)

But Vicky says she just wants to give Jack the best possible chance to achieve his goals of living a more independent life, and says she has spoken to other families who have had success with the treatment.

“I got in touch with the centre and gave them Jack’s medical history, I filled in so many forms and gave them everything they needed,” said Vicky. “In November, we had a call with a doctor at the clinic and she told us that Jack is eligible for treatment.

“We thought ‘this is amazing!’ But then, ‘how do we find the money?'”

As the family fundraises, they explain just how important it is to try and give Jack a voice. At the moment, Jack can make simple noises to indicate responses like ‘yes’ and ‘no’, and can make some physical signs of communication like using pictures to convey what’s on his mind, but little more.

“Jack can indicate when he’s in pain, but he can’t tell me what hurts or where, it’s absolutely horrible as a mum,” explains Vicky.

“And even simple things like what he’s had for lunch or what he wants for tea. He gets frustrated when we don’t know what he’s trying to say and I know it knocks his confidence.

“We all just want him to experience nice things. Jack has been able to share that his dream is to live on his own one day with rabbits and dogs.

“Right now, I don’t think that’s possible while he doesn’t have any speech at all.”

If the family can raise the funds, Jack is due to start his treatment in June 2026. As of December 13, they have raised just over £4,600 of their £30,000 goal.

If you would like to donate, head to the family’s fundraising page.