Please support Coby’s 16 for 16 Challenge and help Ready Steady Go continue providing life-changing support for autistic children and young people across Monmouthshire.

On 25 August 2026, Coby turns 16. To celebrate this milestone, he is taking on his 16 for 16 Challenge: completing his favourite 4.4 km Newport Wetlands walk 16 times between 25 July and 25 August.

We are hoping to raise funds for Ready Steady Go, the charity that has transformed our family’s life and continues to support so many others. Every donation will help us provide activities, events, and opportunities for autistic children and young people across Monmouthshire.

Coby is an extraordinary young man: resilient, determined, funny, and unapologetically himself. Since being diagnosed as autistic at the age of three, he has faced a range of additional challenges, including a rare chromosome anomaly, severe learning difficulties, joint hypermobility, and later, epilepsy. Through it all, he has continued to show remarkable strength, perseverance, and joy in the things he loves most.

The world has not always been easy for Coby to navigate. Everyday expectations can be overwhelming, and he has often needed to find his own path. Yet every day he overcomes obstacles that many people never see, and his determination continues to inspire everyone around him.

In 2018, when we struggled to find activities that truly worked for Coby outside the home, I started a small club called Ready Steady Go. What began as support for Coby and a few autistic friends grew into a welcoming space where children could feel safe, understood, and able to be themselves.

From the beginning, our focus was on equity rather than simply inclusion. We recognised that every autistic child is unique, and that meaningful support means giving people what they need, rather than treating everyone exactly the same.

Eight years later, Ready Steady Go is a registered charity supporting 80 autistic children and young people across Monmouthshire every week.

The charity has become far more than an organisation to us. It is a community built on friendship, understanding, laughter, and support. Through Ready Steady Go, families have found connections, children have built confidence, and lasting friendships have been formed.

For Coby, routine and familiarity provide comfort in a world that can often feel unpredictable. He finds happiness in wetland walks, McDonalds, Nando's, ice cream, Lego, Google Maps, Google Earth, and many other simple pleasures that help him feel secure and connected.

Now it is our turn to give back. By taking on this challenge together, Coby and I hope to raise funds that will help Ready Steady Go continue supporting autistic children, young people, and their families.

If you are able to donate, no matter the amount, your support will make a real difference and help us continue creating opportunities, experiences, for the families who need it most.

Thank you so much for supporting Coby, his challenge, and Ready Steady Go 💚