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On 30th Jan, Sarah and Vikki are flying to Chile to take on the Rat Race Transandean Coast to Coast from Chile to Argentine by bike to raise money for the National Autistic Society. The ride starts on 2nd February and finishes on 11th Feb, a total of 1600km over 9 days. It is fully supported so we only have to carry mandatory kit.

We are completely self funding so any money we raise will go straight to the charity.

For information on the ride click here: https://www.ratrace.com/transandean-coast-to-coast

We both have young children on the spectrum and want to raise money for and awareness of the autism spectrum to support people and children who are neurodiverse to access the neurotypical world, by improving awareness in the workplace, access to jobs, and recognise that neurodiversity brings with it unique skills.

Both Olly (Sarah's son) and Luke (Vikki's son) have difficulty with socialising but in different ways.

Luke is a beautiful child who gets completely absorbed in activities that interest him but stimms and flaps preferring his own company when left to his own devices, He has a extraordinary mathematical mind and a great sense of humour, he absolutely loves to hug and is very tactile. Whilst these behaviours are accepted by his peers at 9yrs old, as he gets older he may be subjected to bullying, isolation and loneliness. We will help him with strategies to overcome these but he sees the world differently offering a unique perspective so he needs support to live comfortably in a neurotypical world.

At only 7 years old, Olly’s symptoms are quite different to Luke’s. He is a very loving and happy soul, as bright as a button, and hugely enjoys adult 121 attention. However he has issues with control, and likes to make his own decisions about what he is doing (whether that be at home or at school). If he feels that he is not in control life can become very stressful for him and he might have a meltdown or try to run away. This can be a little intimidating for his friends (especially as he is very tall for his age) and inevitably has an impact on his social life. Going head-to-head with Olly simply does not work. Ironically (as he is one of the loudest children I know!) he finds loud environments hard to tolerate, and transition can be a real challenge. His early diagnosis is simply phenomenal as it will help give us the knowledge and tools to mitigate his challenges and support him on his journey to being totally awesome!

We recognise that our children, and others like our boys, have huge potential and we need to support them to unlock it, by raising awareness and making it normal to be neurodiverse and for organisations to embrace neurodiversity, recognising the value it can add.

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