Vicky runs London 2025!

About this Giving Opportunity

In 2016, our beautiful son Thomas was formally diagnosed with Autism and Global Developmental Delay. We already knew Thomas was special, so the diagnosis itself was less of a shock and instead presented us with a “what next?”. We had a choice – panic, freeze or act. And we chose to act. In the 8 years since, Thomas has continued to grow into the incredible and unique 11 year old he is today. We’ve moved to the countryside (well, Hertfordshire!) – giving us and him more space, and allowing him to go to incredible special schools, access the support he needs and be close to family for support.

Thomas is currently non-verbal (though I still believe he will speak), and requires a lot of support with everyday tasks. He is an affectionate, funny and determined little boy and life must be so so hard for him – imagine if you couldn’t say what you were feeling – it is heartbreaking and all we want is to bring him joy and fulfilment. While he does have his own challenges and some extremely difficult phases I can’t even put into words, he continues to amaze us, becoming more engaged and more able to communicate without words.

Thomas’s development over the last few years would have been impossible without the early intervention and hard work of his special schools: the teachers, SLA’s, speech therapists, occupational therapists, transport teams, caretakers and support staff are some of the kindest and most caring people we have ever met, and we are so lucky to have them. Unfortunately, Special Schools across the country simply don’t get access to the resources or funding they so desperately need. Which is why, 7 years after swearing I’d never do it again, I am running the London Marathon on 27th April to raise money for Thomas’s incredible school, Breakspeare. Please donate if you can, I really appreciate it and seriously need motivation to build the distance….!