'Agricultural specialisterne': rural employment revolution for those with Autism

[Visionary7903]

The subject of the last post was the ‘Elevate Awareness: Longboarding for Autism’ trip in the United States. The trip, which occurred again the following year, raised money for an Autism-related organisation in the United States.

In the United Kingdom, 48-year-old Chris Ward embarked on a similar long distance skate journey, ‘THE LONG PUSH 2012–Longboarding for Autism Awareness’…

…Chris explained why:

"My girlfriend’s son was diagnosed as having an autism spectrum disorder …last year, when he was aged 10. The diagnosis has had a huge impact on us and the way we live on a daily basis. It opened my eyes to what other families in similar situations must go through. We looked for support in understanding the lifelong condition of autism and that was when we found Families Connected. Founder and head of the charity Carol McKiernon has been hugely supportive of us, so I wanted to do something to help her charity grow. I’ve been skateboarding since around 1976, and had longboards the last few years, but only really fooled around cruising around the seafront area here in Southport. Last summer I found myself sat on the sea wall one Saturday afternoon, looking across towards Blackpool Tower and wondered if I could skate there one day. It was a germ of an idea at the time, but then towards the end of last year I decided to match it up with the charity idea and that’s how THE LONG PUSH 2012–longboarding for Autism Awareness was born…

Chris has created a calendar with some images of his journey:

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(sources: Long Push 2012 | SkateFurther)