The life-changing impact of a support dog on her autistic daughter inspired a Rushcliffe mum to run the London Marathon and raise more than £3,000 as a thank you to his provider.
Laura Charlton’s 13-year-old daughter Betsy was diagnosed with autism, along with global development delay, at a very young age.
With limited communication skills and complex sensory needs for Betsy, simple everyday tasks and outings can result in major challenges for the Charltons.
Like many autistic children, Betsy has no sense of danger and often bolts without warning, potentially putting herself at risk.
She is classed as non-verbal and has difficulty communicating her needs or expressing her feelings.
But since being matched with autism assistance dog Rodney by national charity Support Dogs three years ago, Betsy has been able to live a much more inclusive life.
Rodney’s extra-ordinary effect was the reason Laura chose to tackle the London Marathon in aid of Support Dogs, which trains and provides specialist assistance dogs to help children and adults with a range of challenging medical conditions.
“Rodney has just changed our lives,” said Laura, a 45-year-old national sales manager for Skechers footwear who lives in Radcliffe-on-Trent.
“There’s still this unspoken respect between Rodney and Betsy. He’s just phenomenal with her. Nothing fazes him.”
Laura, who is married to Miles, a 49-year-old finance manager, added: “When the opportunity for a place in the Marathon came up, via Support Dogs, I said ‘absolutely’ and it’s great to raise awareness of this fantastic charity.
“I didn’t appreciate how life-changing he would be! Rodney has opened doors for Betsy to allow her to integrate and experience things and feel comfortable in environments she generally wouldn’t have felt comfortable in. I wouldn’t want to think of life without Rodney, especially now Betsy is a teenager.”
It was Laura’s first London Marathon and she completed it in five hours, 47 minutes.
She described the day as “phenomenal”, adding: “Once us runners got into the pen area, everyone was giving encouragement and making friends.
“One of the things that kept people going was the crowd, with everyone shouting your name – it was like a street party in some residential areas, with people, drums, music and food.
“There were signs saying ‘remember your “why”’ and why you’re doing it absolutely drives everybody on when you get to your low point, which will happen. But Support Dogs has supported our family immensely and that thought convinced me to carry on.” Laura said she “would absolutely” do it all again.
There is still time to sponsor her, at https://2026tcslondonmarathon.enthuse.com/pf/laura-charlton
To find out more about the work of Support Dogs, please visit www.supportdogs.org.uk or call 0114 2617800.
