Thanks for taking the time to visit our JustGiving page. We have done this together, for our daughter...

On March 12th 2010, our beautiful Elizabeth was brought into this world...

 Lizzie didn't develop much like other children and for a long time we didn't know why...that was until earlier this year when she was diagnosed with Autistic Spectrum Disorder and  learning difficulties.

Please let us tell you about her :)

Lizzie lives in a world very different to the world you and I live in, she belongs to an elite 5% of this planets entire human population who's beautiful mind does not function in the way that is considered 'normal'

Lizzie could not speak until she was over 4 years old, she would communicate with strange noises and primarily gestures. This meant that she has had to get through all of her early years without the power of speech.  She still cannot speak properly today at 6 years old, but she does not let it hold her back, I think this in itself makes her an incredibly strong little girl.
She has severe learning difficulties, she cannot read, she cannot write, she cannot generalise any kind of learning, every new task she comes across will be a new task for her over and over again, sometimes for a week, sometimes for a month sometimes maybe forever, yet she still perseveres.

Lizzie knows no social boundaries, she can come across overbearing at times to people who don't understand why she behaves the way she does, she will try to hug and kiss strangers, she will leave our table in restaurants and sit herself with another family because 'they are her friends'. 

Lizzie doesn't know how to play appropriately, if she sees a game being played, she wants to be part of it but she doesn't understand how to integrate herself into that game, so she just kind of plays her own inside yours, which can be frustrating for her peers. But all she wants to do is play and be accepted, sadly she often isn't. Which is such a shame, because she is the sweetest kindest most generous girl I know and if people understood her and 'the label' they would see the absolute sweetheart she is, that all of her family know and adore. 

She needs to know exactly what is happening in her day and when it's happening and if something changes, it distresses her a lot and life isn't always as we plan it more often than not!

All of her senses, hearing, smell, etc are heightened, her world is so much louder than ours and smells potent! (It's rather embarrassing having a conversation with her in the morning and she suddenly puts her hand over her nose, that's her politely telling me to brush my teeth! 🙈) her sense of pain however is quite the opposite, she is like iron woman, which works well for her because the autism also means she is very unsteady on her feet, she has terrible coordination, she is in the school bump book virtually every day, she cannot ride a bike, she cannot use a scooter, she cannot catch a ball, she cannot push a pram but that doesn't stop her giving it a go, but dad's always left to carry whatever it is she decides to take to the park ;) and her lack of spacial awareness means she's often having run ins with doorframes, lamposts, people in tescos! 🙈🤕
This doesn't even start to cover the challenges my little girl has to face every single day. Everyday is hard and stressful for her but despite all of this, you rarely catch her without a smile on her face or hearing her say 'I love you' she is amazing. 

Lizzie has struggled socially and has faced some not very nice situations in her short life so far, and as her parents this has been devastating...we truly believe this is because there  is not enough education on autism available to children or adults for that matter. Just like all forms of prejudice - racism, sexism, ageism, etc this needs to be stamped out aswell. 

We want to raise funds for the charity who help so many families living with autism and awareness about autism so that these beautiful people can be understood, so please if you can, donate to our cause and if you do one thing today, look up autism, look up how it affects the lives of those dealing with it, educate yourselves and those around you so that we can make a better future for those with disabilities. 

#ForLizzie 

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