For little Poppy Bond from Henstridge, every day is the equivalent of running a marathon as she is an intermittent toe walker and has non-verbal autism.

Yet there is no stopping her from completing the Super 7 Challenge for the National Autistic Society this week. There will be huge cheers from Poppy’s family and friends as the happy four-year-old tot reaches the finishing line of her remarkable challenge – walking 1km every day for seven days, raising hundreds of pounds during Autism Awareness Week.

Poppy’s mum Amber, dad Leighton, grandmother Sue and teachers at Explorers’ Pre-school are her biggest fans, and have been cheering her on during her walks in Henstridge Park.

Amber said: “Poppy enjoys going out for walks and is happiest when she is outside. We are walking 1k each day, which is massive for Poppy because she is an intermittent toe walker, which means she spends 90 per cent of her time walking or running on her tip toes.
“Her therapist says the feeling in her legs at the end of the day is the equivalent to running a marathon. Her legs often shake and flinch of an evening as the muscles relax, and she can experience pain which stops her sleeping, but Poppy is the happiest little girl despite being non-verbal and having autism. She doesn’t let anything stop her.”

The National Autistic Society is inviting people to take part in the Super 7 Challenge, a seven-themed challenge for World Autism Awareness Week, which ends on April 4.

Amber said: “We really wanted to do something to raise awareness. The National Autistic Society has been a great help with any information I have needed to help Poppy and they have lots of useful links for a variety of things.”

Already Poppy has raised £750.
If anyone would like to sponsor Poppy, please go to justgiving.com and search for ‘Amb and Poppys 7 challenge’.

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