INTRODUCTION.

Hi, my name is Jerry Roper and I am a husband to a beautiful wife and father to 4 amazing children. My two boys are 7 and 4, and my two girls are 5 and 2.

Our eldest son, Jacob, began life as a very sleepy baby. He developed normally and we thought we were in for an easy life as parents. When he was about 3-years-old, we noticed some gradual changes over time. From an outgoing and happy toddler, Jacob became shy, anxious, and fearful of anyone outside of the family. He became increasingly tired, to the extent that he would sleep a full twelve hours at night, but still fall asleep intermittently throughout the day. He experienced sensory overload, such that he became very sensitive to touch, noise, water, and clothing, and would become aggressive and violent when he felt overloaded. Often he would be playing along happily but then all of a sudden he would fall to the ground and grab his stomach, rolling in a fetal position.

I thought the changes stemmed from his inability to have deep restful sleep, my amazing wife knew it was something more. So we made an appointment with a paediatrician. Within minutes of our appointment, she told us she was 99 percent sure that Jacob was autistic. As you can imagine, our whole world changed. After a long appointment, the paediatrician explained that Jacob needed an official assessment to be sure, although explained that he most likely had high functioning autism, or in old terms, Asperger’s Syndrome. She told us it was common for boys with autism to also have ADHD, and that she wouldn’t be surprised if this was the case for Jacob. We left the appointment reassuring ourselves that things could have been worse, and that we knew we’d do whatever it took to ensure Jacob had all the help and support he needed to function in this world, no matter the cost.

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We then faced the challenge of getting funding for Jacob, and thankfully this was made easier with the help of the incredible people at AMAZE. They were, an absolute shining light for us. However, the AMAZE funding was going to expire when Jacob turned 7; and obviously Jacob won’t suddenly stop needing help at 7.

So, we faced the task of transitioning to the new government funding available to him. Without this funding, we would have seriously struggled to access any therapies which have made a huge difference in all of our lives.

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My second son Lachlan has just started the process of a formal diagnosis. With Jacob we were newbies in this area, but after a few years of learning and watching we were able to pick up on signs for our other children. We are much more in tune now. Lachlan showed similar signs that Jacob showed at his age, but also subtle differences. Like Jacob, Lachlan is extremely sensory driven. He cant sit still for very long and always needs to be climbing on the couch or my wife and I, or sitting and lying in weird positions on the furniture. He's also triggered by noises and contradictorily to his need for sensory input, he can panic if people get too close. His reactions to this are very violent. But he's much more creative and friendly towards strangers when he's around us.

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It very obviously shows that the spectrum is truly wide and varied and even in a family there can be differences.

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I have gained a newfound interest in autism and have spent countless hours reading research papers, listening to podcasts, reading essays written by PHD’s and other experts in the field, as well as reading personal accounts about what has, and hasn’t, worked for other families in similar (or more difficult) circumstances to ours. I have done extensive research into the most effective forms of help for people with autism, because if there’s anything out there that will help Jacob, I want to know about it. That help comes from Nutrition, Meditation, Breathing Practice, Calming Strategies, Light Therapy, Conversational Techniques, Routine Structures, Planning, Self-Awareness, Lessons and Understanding for us as Parents, and Teaching guides. This is just a fraction of what I’ve learnt.

 

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AUTISM, ADHD AND

NUTRITION.

The Australian Autism and ADHD foundation is a small foundation dedicated to the research and education of combination therapies, nutrition and neurotherapy for families, school teachers, therapists and doctors. This epidemic has been described by the World Health Organisation as a "slow motion catastrophe and an impending disaster". The current scientific view is that Autism Spectrum Disorders result from an interaction between genetic vulnerabilities and environmental factors. According to research, nutrient deficiencies in the "Western style diet" and environmental toxins seem to be the main culprits. The powerful role of nutrition became clear to us when we introduced some of the recommended dietary changes, in that we saw a drastic change in all the kids behaviour and self-regulating abilities. Jacob became more able to communicate with us on a general basis. He began to be able to recognise when he wasn’t feeling right and let us know. He developed and strengthened his ability to calm himself down when getting out of hand. His meltdowns drastically decreased. He was able to think clearer and he slowly began to sleep better. These are not the only things, there are so many more changes that we and our families and friends have seen. The main hurdle we have come across is a very keen and hard to fight desire for kids on the spectrum to accept and embrace change. A change in diet is huge, bigger than we anticipated. Not only is food energy, but its also a sensory experience in sight, smell and obviously taste, as well as comfort in the norm of an already chaotic world. Changing diet takes time, but I can tell you from experience with all our children that it is well worth the effort. We know the incredible power of nutrition, we have experienced it in our own lives and the lives of our children.

Despite the prevalence of Autism Spectrum Disorder and ADHD and the clear evidence of how nutrition can influence them, the Australian Autism and ADHD Foundation is one of only a small number of groups dedicated to this cause.

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GOALS.

And this is where I ask for your help.

I plan to run fundraisers for the Australian Autism and ADHD Foundation with an aim to raise as many funds as possible.

Foundations like this are truly a lifeline to families like mine. Without much needed funds, children like Jacob won’t have access to the therapies and support they need to thrive in our society. Parents wont have access to the vast array of resources and studies showing what changes in life and diet can be made to improve all aspects of their children's lives. 

Fitness has been a big part of my life for a long time. You will see from my Instagram account I am constantly taking part in different fitness challenges. 

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Last year I started this fundraiser to raise awareness, support and funds for an incredible organisation. I am called it 353 Burpees for Autism ADHD. The number 353 is particularly meaningful given in 2018, it was estimated that there was approximately 353,880 people in Australia diagnosed with autism

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This year I'm doing it again. But the number has changed. Through a recent podcast with Dr Michelle Garnett, an Australian clinical psychologist who's an expert in Autism, I learnt that the number of people with ASD has increased. It is now estimated that 1 in 52 people are on the Autism Spectrum. So with the nearly 26 million Australians that works out to be 491,716 on the spectrum. 

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I will be completing 491 burpees every day in October for the 31 days; as October is National ADHD awareness month, and like my kids, a lot of people with Autism also have ADHD. I will be posting on social media every day with the hashtag: #491burpeesforautismadhd, and I will also be selling t-shirts to help raise funds.

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We would be so grateful if you’d consider donating funds to my fundraiser, or simply sharing my journey on your social media accounts.

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Click the pics below to see some of my motivating quotes I try and live by.