Members of the SSE Engineering Centre are raising money for Beat Autism by walking St Cuthbert's Way.

The Charity:

Beat Autism is Wakefield based charity (reg. charity no - 1167456) that offers support and advice to carers of anyone who is diagnosed with Autism or awaiting assessment. They provide two weekly, free, parent support groups, fortnightly soft play sessions and several other monthly sessions.

On top of this, they offer speech and language therapy and access to an occupational therapist.

Currently, Beat Autism are working with over 100 families and hope to increase this number. Your support will help them to grow their charity by purchasing new equipment, allowing for the continuing employment of healthcare professionals and expanding their support sessions.

One of our colleagues relies on Beat Autism's services and had this to say:

"As a family, we have found society hard to understand our son's needs and autistic behaviours, however Beat Autism have provided much needed trips and groups where our son is always accepted by those around him. It has been invaluable to talk to and seek advice from other parents who also go through similar issues. It’s our community, where we support and learn from each other. They have also guided us through healthcare and educational problems and without them we would feel lost. Please get behind this amazing charity – Meg & James Hough and our autistic son, Jacob."

More information
https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/autism/
http://beatautism.co.uk/

The Challenge:

We will be walking St Cuthbert's Way, a long-distance route through the borders from Melrose to Lindisfarne. The total distance is 101km and we are aiming to complete the entire route in one go, in 26-30 hours!

This will be a difficult undertaking and, as well as the distance, we'll have to contend with hilly sections through national parks, fatigue and night-time navigation. However, it is for a great cause and we hope that you'll all support Beat Autism.