What are we doing?

Shane Fisher and I will be completing a marathon in February. In the subarctic mountains of Northern Sweden. On skis (we don't currently know how to ski). Carrying everything we need to survive for a few days.

Temperatures will be around -20 degrees Celsius. We'll be eating rations and pooing in snow holes. I'm not even sure exactly where we're sleeping. We face potential blizzard conditions and then there's avalanche risk!

(Please note that we have funded our own trip. 100% of donations will go into the charity and be used to help others)

Why are we doing it?

Government statistics say that around 1 in every 100 children are autistic and a similar number have ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). As new information becomes available - particularly for girls - it's likely that the number is much higher. A study in the Lancet, June 2023, suggests the number could be as high as 1 in every 34 children having some kind of neurodivergence. I wouldn't be surprised if it was higher than that based on my experience.

In some cases these conditions are easily recognised and diagnosed - that said, these children are likely to wait over six months for assessment. In most cases though, autism and ADHD will go unrecognised because children are good at masking. They learn behaviours and put on an act to disguise their true feelings. Masking is exhausting.

Children with undiagnosed ADHD and/or autism are likely to suffer from mental health conditions like anxiety, low self-esteem and depression. ADHD and self-harm are closely linked and up to 40% of suicides in the UK are people with autism or autistic traits. It is also believed that many cases of OCD and anorexia may actually be misdiagnosed and that autism could be the root cause.

Our local area is no different. Unfortunately, during my 20 years of working with children, I have more experience than I'd like of the difficulties young people and their families face.

MASK

The aim of MASK is to raise money and use it to fund or subsidise private sector assessments. This can help families to bypass the public sector where children can wait up to 5 years for assessment. Going private brings the wait down to weeks rather than years.

We aim to provide a range of fundraising events pitched at different levels for people to get involved in so please follow our journey and get involved when you can!

Donations big and small will be gratefully received and we will be sure to put them to good use.

Thanks for reading

David Swale