We met in the playground of the wonderful school our children got to, and we were brought together by a life-defining commonality; we are parents to autistic kids! Being an autism parent is an amazing and challenging journey. Our boys teach us something every day and we learned to celebrate every achievement, as little as it may look.

Our boys taught us that verbal communication is only one way to communicate and that the idea that autistic people lack empathy or feelings is absolute nonsense. Our boys never stop teaching us and we are incredibly proud parents. Autism is a spectrum, and every person is different, although some common traits in autistic pre-schoolers may be delayed speech, repetitive behaviour (a plethora of wonderful stims!) and lack of eye contact.

All of this comes with everyday challenges, though acceptance from society is by far the hardest challenge faced by autism families. Knowledge and understanding of autism and how it presents are not common, which often means that autistic people are misunderstood, face isolation and inequality, and access to services and opportunities are a constant battle. Autism is usually represented in the media in only one way, which leads to a lot of misunderstanding and misinformation. There also isn’t much information for new parents on supporting autistic young children and getting a diagnosis can, for many, take years.

This is why we are raising money for the National Autistic Society who do amazing campaign work to raise awareness and improve policies and practices. We know that our children and all autistic people can be long-term contributors to society if only their potential and amazing skills are encouraged, and their needs are better understood.

We will be trekking the Yorkshire Three Peaks on the 16th May, which covers 24.5 miles and an ascent of 1,532 metres. Please help us raise money for this cause and help create a society that embraces difference!

Thank you

Fabrizia&Alice