My Story:

My experience is a shared one. You are told early intervention is key to supporting your neurodiverse child. Yet there is so little help available for parents who are all too often left to figure it out and spend a fortune on support and therapies.

Thank you for visiting my Just Giving page. Up until about 18 months old, my son Lewis - one of my three kids - was developing as expected. Saying words, short phrases and calling out "Daddy" when he saw me.

Then things started to change. He became quiet, reserved and not his usual self. It was Covid time and we figured he was feeling the lingering effects of the virus. Months past and there was no change. He began running up and down the house non stop. Avoiding eye contact and flapping his arms.

When his little sister was born and we brought her back from the hospital, we noticed that Lewis paid absolutely no attention to our new family addition. Completely oblivious to her. It was then we realised his regression was likely Autism.

Throughout our 2 year Autism journey I have realised one thing. This world is not yet designed for individuals with Autism. And this needs to change.

The Challenge:

I am not a runner. The last time I did any long distance running was the Glasgow 10k in 2014! However, I plan to run the AJ Bell Great Scottish Run Half Marathon in October in under 2 hours. I figured that the training for this will be difficult and frustrating - much like the daily reality for kids like Lewis.

The Charity:

Scottish Autism is an organisation dedicated to enabling autistic people to lead happy, healthy and fulfilling lives. With a head office in Alloa and over 900 staff working across Scotland, they offer a large range of services for autistic people including education, day and vocational opportunities, supported living, outreach, respite and specialist transition support.