This October, I’m taking part in the Run for Autism challenge, aiming to raise £500 by running 250km, including the Stroud Half Marathon, and I’ll be doing it all with a litter picker in my hand!

That’s a marathon and a bit every week. A step up from my usual 5K squeezed in between school pick ups and meetings.

But I’m hoping the miles can make a difference - leaving the places I run a little cleaner than I found them, while raising money for two great causes - Autism Initiatives and Childhood Bereavement UK.

Every 11 minutes, a child in the UK loses a parent. That’s an estimated 46,300 children every year. Nobody really knows how many of those children are autistic, and that’s why I’m sharing my story - because that gap matters.

For some people, growing up feeling different can be very lonely and confusing, especially when they don’t understand why. My own childhood was made more complicated by the loss of my Mum when I was 11 years old.

For over 30 years, I blamed my social and communication difficulties on that one episode in my life. Now, with my autism diagnosis, I find myself looking back at my childhood in a completely different way.

How much was shaped by grief? How much by growing up with a poorly parent? How much by being autistic?

I don’t think there’s a neat answer to those questions. There’s no easy way to untangle any of it, and that’s the point.

There is still so much we don’t know about the relationship between autism and childhood bereavement. It’s a nuanced combination of experiences.

That gap matters when it comes to supporting autistic children through bereavement, because when those two worlds collide, it can be even harder for families to know what they’re looking at or how best to help.

One review found just six studies worldwide specifically examining bereavement in autistic children or those with intellectual disabilities. The researchers described the evidence as limited and fragmented, with support tending to be irregular and inconsistent.

And the impact of unmet needs can reach far beyond childhood, affecting confidence, relationships and turning into more complex social challenges as an adult, leaving many feeling disadvantaged.

Perhaps there’s a wider point here too.

We never really know what someone else is carrying, or what has shaped them. It can be easy to make assumptions based on what we see from the outside, or to become frustrated when someone doesn’t behave as we’d expect.

Sometimes, the benefit of the doubt can make all the difference.

So I’m hoping this challenge can raise a bit of money, start a few conversations, pick up a LOT of rubbish, and encourage a little more kindness and compassion too.

If you’d like to support my efforts, even a small donation would make a difference to the work both charities do - and to the environment. Just £2 would cover 1km of litter picked.

Thank you. 💚