Why I’m Walking 16.5 Miles for Kane’s World

Nineteen months ago, my cousin Kelly came to me with an idea to create a play centre in Darlington, specifically for SEND children like her son, Kane who is profoundly autistic and non-verbal.

After many conversations, that idea became something much bigger. We decided to create a charity that could support not just SEND children, but the families navigating the journey alongside them.

And Kane’s World Foundation was born.

Kelly didn't have to convince me that it was needed, she had to convince me I could find the time to help build it. I already run a business and knew that something this important deserved a huge commitment. So, I was concerned that I wouldn’t be able to give the time it needed. But, as with most things that really matter in life, you make the time.

Because for me, this is deeply personal too. My daughter and husband are both AuDHD - autistic and ADHD.

My daughter went through her entire childhood without being correctly diagnosed. That lack of understanding affected her life in ways that only really made sense when she was finally diagnosed as a young adult.

My husband spent much of his life without answers too, developing his own coping mechanisms to navigate a world that didn't always work for him, without understanding why.

Looking back now, I wish we'd known then what we know today. I wish we'd had somewhere to go and people around us who understood.

It would have been so incredible to have somewhere our daughter could be herself, somewhere we could meet other families who understood, somewhere to find information, support and perhaps recognise much earlier that we weren't alone in what we were experiencing.

I can't change the journey our family has had, but I can help make that journey better for the families coming after us.

That's what I want the Kane's World centre to be. Not just a place for SEND children to play, but a community where children are understood, parents find support, families connect and nobody feels they have to navigate this journey alone.

On Sunday 27th September, I'm walking 16.5 miles from Darlington to Northallerton to help make that happen.

Why 16.5 miles?

Because that's the distance families in Darlington currently have to travel to access the kind of specialist sensory-safe play we're trying to bring to their own community.

For a SEND family, that isn't always a simple day out. It can mean planning around sensory needs, routines, accessibility, safety and the possibility that your child becomes overwhelmed before you've even arrived.

16.5 miles is too far just to find somewhere your child can belong. So we're walking it.

In just 19 months, we've taken one conversation between two cousins and turned it into a registered charity, an incredible community and a very real ambition to open the first Kane's World SEND centre in Darlington.

Now we need your help to get it there. If you can sponsor my walk, every donation - whatever the amount - takes us another step towards opening those doors.

For the children who need somewhere they can simply be themselves.

For the parents searching for answers and support.

And for families like mine, who know how different that journey might have been if something like Kane's World had existed when we needed it.

16.5 miles for me is one Sunday. For SEND families in Darlington, it's a journey they've had to make for far too long.

Let's bring Kane's World home.

#16Point5MilesTooFar

(If you'd like to know more about what we're doing at Kane's World Foundation please visit our website: https://kanesworldfoundation.org.uk)