Daily walks are an easy and popular way for people to unwind, get some fresh air and improve their fitness.
Wyndham Vale mother Sarah Turner gets all three from her daily laps around the Presidents Park lake, but she isn’t the only one reaping the benefits.
Ms Turner is taking part in the Walk for Autism fundraiser where participants are encouraged to complete seven thousand steps a day for the month of May.
So far she’s completed more than 180,000 steps and raised more than $1000 to help support the one in 40 Australians with autism, a figure that includes her 10 year old son Andrew.
“Andrew was always more on the quiet side growing up and it was picked up at a young age that he may have extra needs by the ladies at his kindergarten,” recalled his mother.
“As time went on and we explored this journey, 2022 was when Andrew got a full diagnosis.”
Ms Turner said while it was Andrew who received the diagnosis, the impact of the condition has extended well beyond just him.
“People don’t often realise how hard it is raising a child with autism because not only is it so difficult on the child themselves, but it becomes very difficult on the whole family,” she said
“We often spend many hours running around for therapy appointments for Andrew and often this means our other children have to come a long for these. Often it means having to drive to the other side of town just to find a psychologist, OT, speech therapist etc.”
She said Andrew’s difficulties at school had also had knock-on effects.
“Due to Andrew struggling with emotions and communication, Andrew gets sent home quite a lot from school which then makes this really difficult for myself to have a stable job.”
This is the first year Ms Turner has taken part in Walk for Autism which she hopes won’t just raise money, but raise awareness, about the broader impact autism can have on families.
It’s why she’s involved them, including Andrew, every step of the way so far.
“Each day my family take a photo together and put on our social media how many steps mums done for the day, my children have all taken part in this journey and now often say just before bed, ‘mum, how many steps, we need to take our photo.’ Andrews absolutely loved seeing what it is that mum has been able to do for children with autism.”
To donate and find out more: www.walkforautism.org.au
