Thanks for taking the time to visit my JustGiving page.

I wanted to chose a local charity to raise money whilst I train for 1 of the hardest challenges I've done. Brighton Marathon 15th April 2018. Some of you may know that I ran 2 marathons in my life before children but now, as a 'proper runner', I really want to give the distance the respect it deserves and achieve a time that I am proud of. I also intend to complete a 2nd marathon the following weekend in London to bookend my 40th birthday!

The Puzzle Centre is an amazing local resource that has helped some of my local friends support their young children. I was in awe of the work they do when I was lucky enough to visit recently.

"At 1yrs old our son stopped talking and retreated into his own world.
After many medical appointments and a long wait he was diagnosed with autism, sensory processing disorder and global developmental delay. After the medical diagnosis you are basically left to ‘get on with it’.

We stumbled across The Puzzle Centre and were fortunate that our son gained a placement there in March 2017, when he was 2yrs 8mths.

He was non verbal and although my husband and I had trained in makaton sign language our son had not picked it up and was frustrated and upset daily that we didn’t understand him. We were at a loss as how to best support him.

Our son attended The Puzzle Centre for 3 sessions each week. In his very first week, on his 3rd session he communicate his want to go outside with the aid of PECs (picture exchange communication system). We were astounded, our son had not been introduced to pecs before The Puzzle Centre and this system had given him a voice and for the first time he could clearly communicate something he wanted. He went from strength to strength thereafter, every session at The Puzzle Centre he learnt something new or tried a new experience. Our son can now use pecs to communicate most of his wants/needs, it gave him a voice and made him have to interact with us.

Our son is reluctant to try most new things and due to his sensory difficulties his diet is very limited and he doesn’t understand the need for messy play.

With patience, kindness and an extremely good understanding of autistic children The Puzzle Centre staff have worked with our son, at his pace, to build on his experiences, gain new skills and reach some new milestones.

The Puzzle Centre doesn’t just support the child it supports the whole family. As a family we were offered training by the Puzzle staff and learnt how to use pecs at home, as well as gaining a clearer understanding of autism and how best to support our son.

The expertise of the staff at The Puzzle Centre is second to none and without this early intervention for our son he would still be lost in his own unique world and we would still be floundering at how to reach him.

Our son has attended The Puzzle Centre for 8mths now. He started to use single words when using his pecs in an exchange. His words are becoming clearer everyday and he has approximately 60 words that he will now use in context, on occasion.

The Puzzle Centre is so unique in the local area for preschool children. There would be nowhere else we could have sent our son and everything you read on autism states early intervention is key, yet without The Puzzle Centre we would be having to wait until he was at school to access the specialist teaching.

Being a Puzzle Centre parent I have gained a wide network of support from the staff, professionals and other SEN parents. We are 100% supported on this every changing and challenging journey by The Puzzle Centre. We would be lost without them, it has truly given our son the foundations and coping strategies to progress and reach whatever his potential may be in the future. We are truly grateful to everyone involved with them". - Jo A-F

"Puzzle is a game changer. Parents of children with Autism quickly
learn that early intervention is key. If you are fortunate enough to
find Puzzle in your child's preschool years it’s a must. You don’t have
to have a formal diagnosis (thank goodness as the waiting times can be
unhelpful) and you don’t need to have Local Authority funding (although
it definitely helps). My son attended Puzzle for his preschool year
eight years ago. During his time there he learnt how to talk and his
sensory needs were identified and met. I made parent friends for life
who are also a valued support network. Puzzle assisted in finding the
right fit for his Primary School place (an ARP) and just this September
he's started at the local Grammar school. He has always had the right
educational support (at the right time) and Puzzle set us on this path." Alison

The Puzzle Centre, Buckinghamshire, is a charity that promotes and delivers early intervention for young children with autism or communication difficulties and provides training and outreach to families and practitioners throughout the UK. They believe that every child with autism or other communication difficulties should have access to prompt, appropriate and high quality education, therapy and support.

Their mission is to provide high quality education and therapy for young children with autism or other communication difficulties; to ensure that families receive expert advice and support and to lead the development of best practice early intervention.

For more information about the Puzzle Centre please click on this link http://www.puzzlecentre.org.uk/

Your support means the world to myself and the Puzzle Centre who will make every penny you donate count towards giving young children 
on the autism spectrum (ASD), or with other communication disorders, the best start in life to access the Early Years Curriculum with high quality, specialised early intervention.

It will also enable them to continue the amazing training they do to share their considerable expertise to support parents and professionals with a range of evidence-based educational techniques and approaches.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

Dedicated Miles

Mile 1 - Jo, Sham, Jas, Remy (uptown funk)

Mile 2 - Aimee Coventry

Mile 3 - Alison, Ned & Rex (Microtape gash!)

Mile 4 - Rebecca Griffin's Dad Anthony (Beautiful South song)

Mile 5 - Alex Coventry

Mile 6 - Gabby Fielding (For Oscar Day - I'm a survivor)

Mile 7 - Tracy & Samuel

Mile 8 - Angela  (Begging, Defining Gravity & Sandstorm)

Mile 9 - Guy (My silver lining - First aid kit)

Mile 10 - Michelle Lacey

Mile 11 - Ellie, Ben, Emi & Olu (James Brown - Sex Machine!)

Mile 12 - Sarah (Mr Blue Sky, Frankie)

Mile 13 - Sonja (Breast Cancer Awareness, Livin' on a Prayer)

Mile 14 - Josh Boyce (Somewhere beyond the sea)

Mile 15 - Kelly, Dan, Mia & Ella (Titanium & Black Magic)

Mile 16 - Mia, Paul & Daniel

Mile 17 - Sarah Horne

Mile 18 - Mum (Call on me)

Mile 19 - Chris, Isobelle & Rafferty

Mile 20 -

Mile 21 - Nicki

Mile 22 - Chris, Isobelle & Rafferty (Happy)

Mile 23 - Louise Butcher (Justin Timberlake - Can't stop the feeling)

Mile 24 - April, Kirsty, Amelia (rolling in the deep)

Mile 25 - Mum

Mile 26 - Em, Pete & Freddie