Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

I am running the London Marathon in April and a half marathon in February to raise money for a charity close to the heart of our family. This is not a small challenge at the tender age of 50!

Potential Kids is an award winning charity based in Welwyn/Hatfield which provides learning, social and sports opportunities to Neurodivergent children / young people (Autism, ADHD, Dyslexia, Dyspraxia, Tourettes amongst other neurotypes).

They have and continue to be a life line to our family. My wife Jodie recently had the pleasure and honour of speaking at their celebration when they received the Kings Award and her speech below summarises it well. They desperately need to continue receiving donations to carry on the fantastic work they do. Any donation big or small would be gratefully received.

“Firstly a massive congratulations to Potential kids on receiving the Kings award. I am so grateful that PK are being recognised for the outstanding work they do and the contributions that they make to the neurodivergent community and many families just like mine.

I am the grateful mother of three autistic, adhd children who have taught me so much about what is important in life. My eldest adult child likes to call us neurospicy.

My eldest adult child is now 21 and has been part of the PK family volunteering for the last 5 years.

So let me tell you exactly what PK has done for my children and us as a family. My eldest Avery has kindly allowed me to share some of their story.

When they were aged around 15, they were in a terrible place mentally. After years of being misunderstood, punished, bullied, teased and unsupported within the school system they finally reached a place where they were in total burn out and traumatised. As parents we concluded school was no longer an option.

It was a month or two into homeschooling that I found Potential Kids online and called to see how Avery could become involved. Little did I know it would become life changing for us all. Avery desperately needed more outlets, connections and purpose. They had lost all confidence and trust in others.

I remember the first day we went to trial a coding session and the rest is now history. Avery has volunteered there ever since and is the network administrator. Furthermore, they have run many sessions, helped out at many events and encouraged others around their age into volunteering.

More importantly PK has given Avery a sense of belonging, purpose, huge confidence, connections, another family, training and experience.

For us as a family, it has meant Avery has become confident in their identity as an autistic/adhd adult and along with my own and my husband’s journey, it has allowed us to become a family who can recognise, support, adapt and understand our children in an adaptive way. It has helped us to in-still the sense of different not defective within the children as we so often hear a “tragedy narrative”about being neurodivergent. It has given both myself and husband huge pride as we have watched Avery grow. My two younger daughters attend sessions to and I know they feel totally at home.

It has become a loving and accepting piece of our family’s world which was desperately needed when Keith and I found ourselves alone constantly having to advocate and fight in other systems on our children’s behalf.

A simple thank you feels inadequate but to Angela and all the other people involved in PK, an enormous heartfelt thank you always.”

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