Our staff team, trustees and some of the families we support are walking 10km along the Sussex coast dressed in colours of the rainbow this Autism Acceptance Week (26 March – 3 April 2022), to celebrate 10 years of their service and to raise funds to help us reach more families of people on the autism spectrum. 

Approximately 20 people from our team including family support staff, members of the executive team, trustees and family members who are supported by us will take part in the walk today (Monday), from Littlehampton to Ferring and back.

Walkers will stop off for refreshments at the Bluebird Café in Ferring and The Beach Littlehampton, who have both kindly offered free drinks to our participants in support of the event. 

The walk is part of our fundraising challenge celebrating Autism Acceptance Week raising funds to help more families who are living with a young person or adult on the autism spectrum or with complex needs. These much needed funds will help us provide services such as support groups, workshops, activities, an advice chatline and one-to-one support.

In recent months, this support has been a life-saver as people with autism and learning disabilities have been particularly impacted by the pandemic; with a study revealing that 9 in 10 autistic people were worried about their mental health during lockdown and 85% said their anxiety levels got worse (Left Stranded report by National Autistic Society, Sept 2020).  

Penny Piggott, Head of Family and Specialist Support Services at Aspens said: “We’re very excited to complete our 10KM walk to raise funds to help us reach more families. We provide an open-door, tailored service that supports families, enables them to have contact with like-minded people and offers the opportunity for them to share experiences and ask for help. I passionately believe this should be free and accessible to all. We urgently need funding to make this possible and to continue delivering and expanding our service. If you live in West Sussex, do look out for our brightly coloured team taking part in our walk and give us a toot to show your support! Please do also support us by donating to our appeal or take up the challenge yourself! The more people that get involved and support us the more help we’ll be able to provide to families who so desperately need it.”

The Au-Some 10 for 10 Virtual Challenge is open to all - sign up or make a donation here. 

A huge thanks to The Bluebird Cafe and The Beach Littlehampton for their support.