I’m running the Cardiff Half Marathon for Autistic Minds because autism is a subject very close to my heart.

I have a 5 year old nephew who was recently diagnosed with autism, as well as friends who’ve either been diagnosed with autism later in life or suspect that they may be autistic but have never sought a diagnosis. I’ve seen first-hand not only the difficulties that they face every day, but the barriers that can be overcome when the support that they need is given to them.

Autistic Minds provides a whole range of support to those living with autism. My incentive to raise money for the charity is so that it can continue to provide this support and expand its reach to aid more people living with autism in the future.

About the charity

We are working hard all year round to help and support those within the Autism community that need it most. From our Help Hub which has recently been receiving 300 plus calls a month from those who need support to running our employment programmes in the South Wales Job centres backed by the DWP. We also hold one to one meetings for those who need help with PiP and diagnosis.

Over 70% of our staff are autistic and we are so proud to be able to say that we are making a difference to people's lives. However we are not government funded so literally every penny raised will be making a huge difference and enabling us to pave the way for better and clearer awareness and understanding of the Autism community and will also enable us to continue to grow and expand to reach out to more and more people who desperately need it.