My story
This April I will be walking 5K for the National Autistic Society as part of World Autism Acceptance Month.
For most of my life, I didn’t understand why the world felt so much harder for me than it seemed to for everyone else. I spent years wondering why I wasn’t the same as other people. Why everyday situations left me exhausted. Why noise, lights, crowds or unexpected changes could feel so overwhelming. From the outside I “looked fine” — but inside I was constantly trying to cope, constantly trying to make sense of a world that didn’t always make space for people like me.
Being diagnosed as autistic as an adult was both painful and life-changing. Painful because it meant recognising how long I had struggled without the right understanding or support. Life-changing because it finally gave me answers, language, and self-compassion. It helped me realise that I was never broken — I was simply navigating a world not designed with autistic minds and senses in mind.
Sensory differences can make daily life incredibly challenging. Sounds can feel sharper, environments more intense, and social expectations confusing or exhausting. These are invisible struggles. Many autistic people spend years masking how difficult things truly are, trying to fit in, trying to survive. This can lead to deep loneliness and isolation.
I am walking because I want the world to be kinder and more understanding for young autistic people and children growing up today.
I am walking to help improve education so autistic students are supported rather than misunderstood.
I am walking for a society that works for autistic people — where adjustments are normal, acceptance is real, and difference is respected.
I am walking to help reduce the loneliness that so many autistic people experience.
I am walking to challenge the misinformation and stereotypes that still surround autism.
And I am walking to celebrate World Autism Acceptance Month — not just awareness, but true acceptance.
If you can support me, through a donation or by sharing my page, you are helping to create a future where autistic children don’t have to spend years wondering what is “wrong” with them. A future where they are understood from the very beginning.
Thank you for being part of that change. 💙
For most of my life, I didn’t understand why the world felt so much harder for me than it seemed to for everyone else. I spent years wondering why I wasn’t the same as other people. Why everyday situations left me exhausted. Why noise, lights, crowds or unexpected changes could feel so overwhelming. From the outside I “looked fine” — but inside I was constantly trying to cope, constantly trying to make sense of a world that didn’t always make space for people like me.
Being diagnosed as autistic as an adult was both painful and life-changing. Painful because it meant recognising how long I had struggled without the right understanding or support. Life-changing because it finally gave me answers, language, and self-compassion. It helped me realise that I was never broken — I was simply navigating a world not designed with autistic minds and senses in mind.
Sensory differences can make daily life incredibly challenging. Sounds can feel sharper, environments more intense, and social expectations confusing or exhausting. These are invisible struggles. Many autistic people spend years masking how difficult things truly are, trying to fit in, trying to survive. This can lead to deep loneliness and isolation.
I am walking because I want the world to be kinder and more understanding for young autistic people and children growing up today.
I am walking to help improve education so autistic students are supported rather than misunderstood.
I am walking for a society that works for autistic people — where adjustments are normal, acceptance is real, and difference is respected.
I am walking to help reduce the loneliness that so many autistic people experience.
I am walking to challenge the misinformation and stereotypes that still surround autism.
And I am walking to celebrate World Autism Acceptance Month — not just awareness, but true acceptance.
If you can support me, through a donation or by sharing my page, you are helping to create a future where autistic children don’t have to spend years wondering what is “wrong” with them. A future where they are understood from the very beginning.
Thank you for being part of that change. 💙