Hi, my name is Lewis, I am 17 and the older brother of Niamh. I am running the Manchester half marathon on October the 12th and raising money to donate to the provisions that work with her daily to ensure her the best quality of life and to do something to thank them. My sister Niamh is now 7 years old and was diagnosed with autism and development delay at the very young age of 18 months old. Niamh was non verbal until recently, we are extremely proud to say she is now managing to communicate her needs and wants and is learning new communication techniques all the time. She faces barriers and battles daily and she struggles with her social skills as well as her eating habits and her education. She is significantly behind her peers but does not let this phase her, she is resilient, funny, loving and has a great sense of humour that I’m sure only she understands. She is routined and structured which has shaped our family living into something new. I am extremely proud of my sister and more so feel huge gratitude to the support she has received by her mainstream school setting who has fought hard to ensure suitable resources are there to meet her needs in line with her Educational plan and also her after school provision who agreed to take her at a young age despite her needs, these provision have been vital to the achievements she has made in the last 3 years and will help shape her future. 

I want to do this for her, she deserves more support than is available which is not any fault on the provisions she has access to but the limited funding available to all children with Disabilities. I am aiming to raise £2000 to split equally between both Summerfields primary school and Cool Kidz R Us (out of school provision) this money will help fund vital resources for outdoor sensory play which is Niamh’s favourite place to be.

(I’m a massive Sheffield Wednesday fan and season ticket holder and I promise all donations will go to Niamh’s provisions and not to Chansiri’s pocket )