We are completing this challenge for our beautiful son who was diagnosed with Autism at the age of 4. We were so lucky to be surrounded by support and knowledge, from the initial recognition of Freddie's traits at the young age of 3 right through to his diagnosis, meaning that as a family, we had access to help and support throughout, allowing us to incorporate everything we learn towards giving Freddie the best life. Freddie is now 9 and in such a happy place, he amazes us every single day with his ability to hyper focus and absorb everything. Freddie is now home schooled and thriving, a very different story from when he was in mainstream school where he was anxious and would have frequent meltdowns and even hurt himself. It broke our hearts as parents and at the time we were very angry that time spent at school had such a negative impact on our son and that the sensory items and quiet time our son 'needed' were used as reward/ punishment. Once he was removed from the situation and we stepped back it made us realise that a lot more awareness is needed to support schools. I appreciate many parents have to fight to be heard and have a very different diagnosis journey to the one we had which is why this challenge and raising money for this charity is so important to us! Autism is a spectrum therefore making it difficult to spot the hidden disability, the National Autistic Society work towards raising awareness, supporting families and changing attitudes towards Autistic individuals.

As parents, we began our own journey of research and educating ourselves so that we could give Freddie the very best experience growing up with autism, this led to us recognising that Freddie's dad also displays similar traits to Freddie - this has since resulted in a late life diagnosis. This provided a lot of answers for my husband who has always suffered severely with his mental health and through our research we have discovered that undiagnosed autism can take the form of depression in adults, possibly from many years of 'masking' or being misunderstood. More awareness = quicker turnaround for diagnosis, which could improve the lives for many. Thank you for taking the time to read our story. Any donations and support for this wonderful cause that is so close to our hearts would be greatly appreciated 💜💛

This October, I'm taking part in the 100 miles in October challenge in aid of the National Autistic Society.

The National Autistic Society are there to help the 700,000 autistic people in the UK and their families - be it running specialist schools, campaigning for improved rights or training companies on being more autism-friendly, they are dedicated to transforming lives and changing attitudes.

Your donations towards my efforts are greatly appreciated and not only that, they will be a huge help in creating a society that works for all autistic people and their families, thank you! 💜