At the time of writing, Zac is 2 and a half years' old. Although officially undiagnosed, (which is due to the UK being very behind in Autism understanding and intervention and always saying "give it time" - hence waiting over a year for any full assessment), it is clear that Zac is on the Autistic Spectrum. The local authority now have him on the 'Autism pathway' which basically means a long wait, with no support. Zac's language is very delayed, as is his social communication, eye contact etc. Essentially, all the key skills required to integrate into society.

However, there is hope if therapy takes place early enough in life. In the US, this therapy is widely available and funded, but in the UK it isn't. I am Zac's dad, and his mum is working tirelessley to appeal to the local authority where we live to support funding with his treatment and get him the specialist support he needs. So far we have been put through standard processes that clearly don't suit him. We are in touch with a new charity, called Petra's Place, which focuses on the type of therapy he needs. However, it is extremely expensive. Even the amount I am trying to raise will only cover about two months of 4 hours a week therapy for Zac, but at least it's a start. We are finding as many savings as we can to be able to afford the therapy, but nothing we do will get us to the full year's worth cost, as that is nearer £20k, but we must try, and this is another avenue.

Of course, I would rather not put our situation out in the public domain, but needs must, and any parent would understand that you do anything you can for your children. I also attempted to get a Marathon place this year in order to support fundraising, but to no avail. So, I am doing the next best thing and running two half marathons (like a marathon but with a three week gap inbetween!). One is in our local Borough, Hillingdon, at the end of Feb 2019 and the other in Reading in March. We have asked Petra's Place if we can fundraise for them, and are awaiting an answer. They are so new that these things haven't been ironed out yet.

Anyway, we are doing all we can, and as I say, my wife is being an absolute hero, pushing the local authority as far as we can to get funding. Believe me, if that happened, I would refund any unused money to any donaters. We would not be doing this if we didn't have to.

Finally, but most importantly, a bit about Zac. He is amazing, and was a bit of a miracle when he was born, as we have complications that had meant previous pregnancies did not result in a baby. Zac does have an older brother, who is 11, so you can see that with nigh-on a 9 year gap, we never expected to have another child. But it eventually happened. His first year was in and out of hospital with uncontrollable fevers (he spent his first birthday in hospital), so when that started to improve, we thought we were on a good path. Then it was evident all was not right. He tries, and does say some words, but we know what he means when others might not. He is super-active, loves jumping and running, and loves hugs and kisses. Aside from his issues, he is a beautiful, loving boy. So we just want to give him the extra support he needs to move him forward. He will never likely be fully independent, but like every human, he deserves the chance to try. But as things stand, with playing the local authority's 'wait and see' game, the opportunity to intervene is getting smaller, and Zac is slowly regressing, rather than progressing, as he could be with early intervention.

So, thank you. There is no reason for anyone to donate, as they don't know Zac. But if you do decide to support, you really will not know what it will mean to us to get Zac the therapy he needs to be able to live as much of a sociable and interactive life as is possible.

Best wishes, Matt.