When Kelly Mahar has time to herself, she ties on her running shoes and jogs around town, fuelled by the determination and love she has for her son, Quinn.
With every step she makes and breath she takes, Mahar hopes to shine a light on the challenges families face when loved ones are affected by autism.
Her latest journey took her to Japan to spread awareness of the need for more support.
She participated in the Toyko Marathon, one of six major world competitions, along with the Berlin, Boston, Chicago, London, and New York races. She ran a 42.2-kilometre route with a time of three hours and 43 minutes.
“I dedicated all of my running in recent years to autism awareness for my son,” said Mahar. “This one was an extra special marathon because it was one of the last world majors.
“With Quinn and with his diagnosis (at age 27 months), it just brings that more out of us to have that fight and drive every day to do whatever we can to make sure his life is as great as it can and will be,” said Mahar.
According to the Canadian Pediatric Society, autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder that involves challenges with social communication, restricted interests, repetitive patterns of behaviour, and unusual sensory sensitivities or interests. About 1 in 66 children in Canada are living with ASD.
“Typically around here, people hear about autism and they might know somebody who has autism or they heard about it through school,” said Mahar. “Over there, it seems a little different. I don’t think it was as widely recognized. I wore it proudly on my shirt when I raced. I think some people recognize it when you’re in Canada or North America, but over there, it doesn't seem to be widely recognized at all.”
She reached out to Autism Ontario a few years ago to learn more about it, to hear from other families with children with ASD, and be pointed in the right direction for Quinn to receive therapy.
“They were the first agency I went to when we got our diagnosis,” said Mahar. “They were super helpful.”
Autism Ontario is a charitable organization that has represented thousands of people with ASD and their families. It has a network of parents, professionals, and autistic self-advocates who can speak on the impact individuals and families face.
“We are a huge advocacy group that is trying to show all the different options for families,” said Dawn Tuckwell, stakeholder engagement manager for Autism Ontario. “We want them to know there are services all across Ontario they can tap into.”
The organization offers unique, local autism programs and services designed to support individuals with autism and their families in reaching their full potential.
“We have social and recreational support all across Ontario,” said Tuckwell. “We have multi-week programs where children and adults can come and learn social skills and be in an environment that is inclusive and supportive so they can learn the skills they need.”
Autism Ontario does not provide therapy rather, it offers a support system for families and individuals to learn from like-minded people.
“Behind the scenes, not everybody sees what we deal with when it comes to behaviours, sleep issues, picky eating or stimming,” said Mahar. “People don’t necessarily see that when we’re at home but those are things we deal with daily and we handle it. We manage it as a family. We do the best we can for him and we have support in place. We make sure we’re constantly working and helping him develop daily.”
Back home in Newmarket, Mahar now has plans to run in town for the third annual Running for Awareness run. She will run 2.7 kilometres every hour for 27 hours on April 27 to raise funds for Autism Ontario’s York Region Camp for Kids with Autism.
She raised $18,564 last year and has a goal to raise $20,000 this year.
“We are so grateful when parents decide to fundraise for our charity,” said Tuckwell. “It reassures us that we’re providing the necessary programs and services families need and require. So much so that they take on the task of fundraising for a charity like Autism Ontario.”
To learn more about the run or donate money to the cause visit AutismOntario.ca
