Ryan is a handsome, intelligent and endearing little boy. He also has an autistic spectrum disorder. A few years ago we didn't know much about autism.  We ignorantly thought children with ASD either lived their lives in social isolation or were savants like the character in "Rain Man" - how wrong we were!  Our experiences have taught us we are far from alone and ignorance about this condition is widespread.  

In 1993 1 in 141 children had autistic spectrum disorder diagnoses. The latest data suggests that 1 in 64 primary school age children are now affected. We believe the true rates are significantly greater yet these increasing rates remain hugely unreported and underfunded.

Ryan is lucky. His autism is not severe and we believe that given sufficient support he will achieve a happy,successful and independent life. We will continue to fight to get him the support he needs. However we also desperately need to increase awareness and research into this condition and its causes. Undoubtedly genetics plays a part but there are influencing environmental factors. We need to understand what these factors are and importantly how we treat these children.

We are running the Bath Half Marathon in aid of Treating Autism, a charity who aim to help people with autism reach their potential.

Donating through Justgiving is quick, easy and totally secure. It’s also the most efficient way to sponsor me: Treating Autism gets your money faster and, if you’re a UK taxpayer, Justgiving makes sure 25% in Gift Aid, plus a 3% supplement, are added to your donation.

So if you can please sponsor us and if you can't please just take the time to try to understand and support Ryan and other children like him.

Many, many thanks,

Kathleen and Steve