Parent carer Linda Chipps describes navigating appointments, meetings, emails, phone calls, forms and advocacy to secure support for her child as “relentless.” Her experience is central to Walk in Our Shoes, a community fundraising and awareness campaign by Pontypridd-based Behaviour Support Hub (BSH) on Wednesday, August 19, 2026.
The campaign invites families, young people, professionals, organisations and community supporters to collectively complete 50K, symbolising the significant commitment and many journeys parent carers make throughout the year. Behind every appointment, assessment, school meeting, waiting list and conversation with a service is a child or young person and a family trying to be heard.
Challenges Faced by Neurodivergent Families
For many neurodivergent families, navigating education, health and support services can be complex, frustrating and exhausting. Linda describes the experience as “a never-ending round of appointments, meetings, emails, phone calls, forms, advocating, fighting, and begging.”
She says that is why the support provided by Behaviour Support Hub matters so much. “Everyone in that room understands the unspoken exhaustion. The silent frustration. The way that it drains you day after day. You can walk into that room and not need to explain. A shared glance, a tear, a cwtch. No need to exhaust yourself further with explanations, justifications, and advocating. You are not alone. That is the crucial thing with BSH. You know you're never alone.”
How Behaviour Support Hub Helps
For Behaviour Support Hub, that sense of connection is central to its work. The charity provides one-to-one support, advocacy, peer support, workshops and practical information, creating spaces where parent carers can ask questions, share experiences and connect with people who understand what they are going through. But BSH’s work does not stop at supporting individual families.
The charity takes what families tell them and uses those experiences to help influence wider conversations about the services children, young people and families depend on. BSH works with health boards, the Senedd, local authorities, education professionals and community organisations, helping ensure parent carer lived experience is heard and reflected in discussions about policy, services and the future of support for neurodivergent children and young people in Wales.
Voices Behind the Campaign
Beth Tingle, from Behaviour Support Hub, said: “Linda’s words capture something that can be difficult to explain unless you have lived it. There are so many journeys that families make which other people never see. The appointments, phone calls, meetings, paperwork and advocacy can become an exhausting part of everyday life. Walk in Our Shoes is about making those journeys visible. It is also about showing families that they do not have to make those journeys alone. We want people to walk beside them, listen to their experiences and understand the difference that support can make. And when families share those experiences with us, we want to make sure their voices are heard beyond our own organisation and help inform the conversations taking place around education, health and support services.”
Professionals and community representatives will also be joining the walk, reflecting the importance of families, professionals and organisations working together. Linda is encouraging others to join the campaign: “Walking with us means so very much. For too long parent carers have felt isolated and desperate, their wellbeing suffering every single day. BSH are changing that. Please join us.”
Event Details and How to Participate
Walk in Our Shoes 2026 takes place on Wednesday, August 19, 2026, at Ponty Park, Pontypridd. Participants meet at the Bandstand from 10am to 1pm. Attendees are encouraged to wear something colourful. Everyone is welcome to join the walk, and people can also support the campaign by fundraising or making a donation. The campaign’s motto is “Walk in Our Shoes. Walk Beside Our Families.” To find out more about Walk in Our Shoes, visit the website here.
