A woman with autism is preparing to travel the length of the UK to raise money for her local charity,
Action for Autism Barnsley.
Rhiannon Hilary-Rees, who lives locally to the charity, will be using public transport to get from
Lands’ End in Cornwall to John O’Groats in Northern Scotland from 11 April.
Mrs Hilary-Rees wants to give back to the charity after they supported her since her
diagnosis with autism eight years ago.
The 54-year-old said: “The group has given me a lot of confidence in being myself, whereas beforehand I was
trying to please everybody else.
“I’ve been given a purpose and a meaning to life, whereas before I was just trying to find that, it’s
been really beneficial and not something I can really put into words.”
Action for Autism Barnsley, also known as AfAB, are a support group that meet on Mondays and
Wednesdays to raise awareness of challenges for autistic people in society.
The charity provides the community with chances to socialise and go on trips, such as their
recent excursion to see the Henry Moore exhibition at The Cooper Gallery in the city.
Mrs Hilary-Rees said the group is vital to allowing autistic people the chance to meet a like-minded
group in a safe environment.
She said: “There’s a social barrier for people going out to do these things, with the group we get to
explore it in our own way of understanding things and get that supporting in viewing the art.
“It allows people with a diagnosis just to come together and hang out with each other, wherever you
go, people always question why you’re behaving like that and not conforming to their expectations.
“In the group, if you’re having difficulty with something, there’s someone there to help.”
Mrs Hilary-Rees said she has been able to understand herself better since discovering she had
autism, having previously thought that she was depressed.
As AfAB played a big part in her progression, she wanted to raise money for them.
She said: “I could do it for myself but it’s much better to do it for somebody else, and that’s where I
decided to get AfAB involved because then there’s more meaning in it than doing it for myself.
“It’s exciting but I’m slightly nervous at the same time, it’s a self-funded trip and I’ve done it all off
my own back.”
Anyone wanting to donate to the cause can donate via the link here.