Tom challenged himself to run four kilometres every day in December to raise money for Autistica. We caught up with him to find out more.

Could you tell us about your fundraising challenge?

I challenged myself to run four kilometres a day in December to raise money for Autistica. I haven't done running every day for a while. On day three or four I was like ‘This is going to be interesting!’

I only missed runs on Christmas Day and one other day. I made up for these with longer runs. But that was nice as I found the longer runs a bit easier. The bit between Christmas and New Year was really good because it gave me something to do.

What was your motivation for fundraising for Autistica?


I was motivated by the high-level strategic work that Autistica does. I think everyone needs to become more aware of what's happening and the misrepresentation of a lot of autistic people. I wanted to raise awareness so everybody has a better understanding of autistic people.

There are some great local charities, and that’s just as important. But I think donating to Autistica has a drop-down effect on everybody as you have influence with policymakers.

Do you have a personal connection to the cause?


I've got three children. My middle son is one of the 200,000 people who are waiting for an autism assessment. Frederick is four going on five, and he was first referred about 18 months ago.

I don't even know what the assessment process is going to really look like. They might even turn around halfway through and say, “No, we don't think he is autistic.” and we'll be back to scratching our heads. Regardless of if he gets diagnosed or not, he's still a happy young boy. At the end of the day, that's all that matters.

Which of Autistica’s 2030 Goals stands out to you and why?


For me, I think support from day one. I see proper support as a preventative measure rather than the model of support for a lot of people, not just autistic people. Once you're at a crisis point that’s when services will come and try and patch things together.

In the very short time of being aware that our son might be autistic, I’ve seen that when you do things that are tried and tested, and we've had support, what a massively positive impact it can have on him. And for us, it helps with feeling like we're actually doing an OK job with him.

In addition to proper support helping autistic individuals, prevention is far more cost-efficient than being reactive. Whether someone is autistic or not, if they are struggling without proper support, they're probably a cost burden on the healthcare system, social care potentially, signed off sick or not going to be in work. I’m not saying the incentive for change should be putting a cost measure on it, but earlier, better support makes more sense for everyone.

What role does research play in creating a better quality of life for autistic people?

It’s massive. With the amount of value we put on cancer or dementia research, I think we should do exactly the same to support autistic people. Research helps us to understand autism and it helps us get better at communicating to employers, families or professionals about understanding autistic people and getting the best from them.

What was the most difficult aspect of your challenge? What helped when things got tough?

The knee pain! I never knew that I had a problem with it, but obviously the way that I run makes it hurt. But that was that was it. Mentally, there wasn't a challenge because I was really up for doing it.

What would you say to anyone thinking of doing a challenge for Autistica?

I think if it's a cause close to your heart, it will be motivation when things get tough. When my knee was hurting, I'd say to myself “20 more minutes of pain in my knee is barely a fraction of what my son is dealing with day in, day out."

Is there anything else you would like to add?

I'll be honest, I have a really positive outlook for the future. When my child becomes a young adult, I think the world will be far more understanding for people who are autistic. You can already see the change in attitudes towards ADHD. I’d like to think the same thing will happen for autistic people. I personally think people’s understanding is going to become more mainstream.

Thank you, Tom, for your brilliant efforts!