14451/02WHEN their son Ben was diagnosed with autism, Nick and Jane Bryan felt their world had fallen apart, but two years on the couple are positive about the future.

To raise awareness of autism and to gather much needed funds for the National Autistic Society, Mr Bryan is going on a 90 kilometre trek in Cuba.

He has already raised £2,500 but would like to surpass the £5,000 target he has set himself and is appealing for donations from business or individuals.

Mr Bryan, a financial consultant, said: "I do feel passionately that the issue of autism needs more publicity. Most people have heard of autism but not so many could say what it is and how it affects people.

"Jane and I were similarly unaware of autism until Ben was diagnosed with the disorder two years ago.

"Since then we have been making the huge adjustments to life that autism entails. There are a great many people struggling to cope with autism in their family and all would be helped if the general awareness of autism were raised.

"By going on the Cuba trek I can help by raising money and increasing the profile of the National Autistic Society in the media."

The couple, of Devizes, realised there was something amiss with Ben's development, now four, when he had his check up at 18 months.

When he turned two, autism was diagnosed.

Mrs Bryan, a financial manager, said: "We read up on autism and it was frightening to read that 96 per cent of autistic people are not able to lead independent lives and something like half of them don't speak."

Mr Bryan, 40, said: "We were in unchartered territory and it totally turned our lives upside down. When you hit a low, thankfully there is a long way to come up and we are in a long period of going up which is nice."

Autism is a lifelong developmental disability that affects the way a person communicates and relates to people around them. Ben's particular difficulty is communication.

Mr Bryan, who is a part time organist at the Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception Roman Catholic Church in Devizes, said: "Eighteen months ago Ben was not talking and we were hugely worried that he wouldn't speak at all.

"If, for example, he wanted a drink he would have grabbed our hands and led us to the kitchen, now he can say the word juice."

Ben has progressed well since being on the Applied Behavioural Analysis (ABA) programme, which involves tutors teaching him for 25 hours a week. ABA has been proven to have dramatic effects on children with autism.

Mrs Bryan, 41, said: "Ben used to tantrum a lot because he couldn't make himself understood and that made him frustrated. Now, thanks to the ABA programme, he can make himself understood and can understand us.

"He is talking and he seems motivated to talk, which was his biggest problem.

"We take one day at a time and we don't think about what Ben will be like when he is 20, there's no point thinking that far ahead, but we don't feel as hopeless as we once did."

The trek to Cuba takes place between November 13 and 22 and Mr Bryan is one of 12 people taking part.

If you would like to sponsor Mr Bryan on his trek to Cuba you can donate online at www.justgiving.com/nickbryan or call him on 07843 593872.