I have decided to boil and shed my couch potato skin to take part in Bradley's Exmouth 10K run on the 30th September. Having recently got into a habit of running outside in fresh air, away from the stifled monotony of the machine conveyer belt, I thought it would be good to start channeling this into structured training and routine, where I could track my progress while keeping mind and body happy and healthy.

So I thought, why not achieve this goal while contributing to a good cause? My chosen charity is the National Autistic Society, as this is an organization that is very close to my heart. The NAS are dedicated to supporting families and individuals who are affected by Autism.

My brother, Tom, is diagnosed with severe Autism and special needs, and currently lives in a specialist residence provided by the NAS which can cater and care fantastically for his complexity of needs. The NAS website described Autism as "a lifelong, developmental disability that affects how a person communicates with and relates to other people, and how they experience the world around them." It's a broad condition (hence the common use of the phrase "spectrum" in association with autism) and is bound up in other related conditions, such as epilepsy, learning difficulties, ADHD and depression. It's difficult to really understand Autism at first, as it's difficult to put it in a single box (I am still learning about it every day), and there's a lot we and the researchers don't know about Autism, such as its causes. 

Over the course of the next month, I will be reading Adam Feinstein's A History of Autism and will draw upon the book and my own experiences to raise awareness and tell the story of my brother and a condition that is culturally prevalent but often misunderstood, especially by mainstream media. I will do some writing to accompany my fundraising to further raise awareness of my own experience with Autism in a family setting.

Anything you can give will be so greatly appreciated!