A make or break appeal has been set up to help a young boy from Helston learn to speak and hear his own voice for the very first time - at a staggering cost of £50,000.

Three and a half-year-old William Stuteley is on the non-verbal end of the autism spectrum, something that affects only one in four children with autism. This means that he cannot communicate verbally and does not understand the world around him.

His parents, local teachers Rebecca and Joe, said: "We often say he is trapped in 'Will’s world'. Imagine raising a child who cannot tell you they are hungry, thirsty, tired, unwell, upset or scared.

"As parents, we struggle daily to meet his needs and he in turn is frustrated when we can’t."

There is hope for children like William, however - an intensive therapy that helps parents and the children themselves to manage and live functionally with this condition, even eventually helping them to speak.

Unfortunately this expensive therapy is not available on the NHS, prompting Rebecca, head of creative arts and a drama teacher at Penzance's Humphry Davy School, and Joe, head of geography at Helston Community College, to launch a fundraising appeal with the help of friends.

So far £890 has been raised via online fundraising page set up at gogetfunding.com/hear-wills-voice towards the £50,000 the family estimate will be needed to fund the therapy, which involves one-to-one care, over the next two to three years.

William has been able to have a few trial sessions, funded by his parents, and his progress already has amazed and delighted his family.

In only his second session Will happily played with a puzzle, while only the week before he had reacted in his usual way of either ignoring toys or throwing them.

"It's absolutely incredible - but it is expensive," said Rebecca. "We're in a situation where we could say, 'We can't afford it, let's not do it,' or we could say, 'Let's just try it'. They said there's a percentage chance he might not speak, but we have to take this chance."

His parents plan to delay the start of school for William, who attends a special nursery in Gulval for part of the week and Helston Day Nursery for the other half, so that one day he will be able to attend mainstream school.

"Clare Williams, the manager at Helston Day Nursery, has been so supportive. We're so lucky to have such a great nursery," said Rebecca.

The first indication that William might have autism was as a baby at a year old, with Rebecca explaining: "He didn't really look at me and he had no emotion to communicate. When the language never came that was massive alarm bells."

William has never progressed from the 'babbling' common of young babies.

"As parents the first thing you wait for them to do is walk, and he did that, and the next is to hear their voice. We don't know what he sounds like; that's part of learning about your child and their personality.

"Autism is a real struggle, but that I can deal with - it's the non-verbal aspect. It's like not getting to know your son. We have no idea how he feels; when he's ill is the hardest bit," said Rebecca.

The future is looking brighter thanks to the prospect of therapy, however, with Rebecca adding: "We're so excited to hear William's voice. That's our aim with this. We will do everything we can to give him the best possible start in life."

To help boost funds further, a group of supporters will be embarking on a 46-mile trek along the west Cornwall coast next month.

On Saturday, February 20, the group plans to walk from Lizard Point to Lands End, in four sections - with each fundraiser walking their own section of approximately 11 miles.

Rebecca is also in the process of organising a quiz and wine evening for the Easter holidays and is looking to add to the prizes already donated by businesses in the area. To offer support email beccamaude@yahoo.co.uk

This is also the contact for anyone interested in volunteering for training to support William in his therapy, which would further reduce the cost to the family.