A NEW BEGINNING

Luke Williams

Founder/President

Lend a hand to Hugo

Lend a hand to Hugo - A charity; yes, but the story is deep, and many are still unaware of where 'LAHTH' originated.

It was August 2014 and on the average day, I was handing in assignments late and annoying teachers alongside my friends. I was just an ordinary grade nine student attending school at Sacred Heart College in New Town, Tasmania. My family and I had recently made the transition from living in a small country town back to the big smoke. With this, we had more time to spend with family, and travel wasn’t such an issue. Following a few rough years in middle school, I wasn’t too concerned about the move and thought it was for the best. I was still a passionate cricketer and although I wasn’t naturally talented; I tried my best without loosing my love for the game. I was lucky enough to meet some new friends at my school who just like me, happened to also have a passion for cricket. They convinced me to train with the North Hobart Cricket Club, which was only a five-minute drive from my new home.

I settled well in my new home. The move back to the city, change of school and cricket club transformed me, I was much more calm, and with this I became more involved in family life. In a way, I’m an only child, but I have three older half-sisters, all whom have moved out of home. Two of my sisters have children of their own, meaning that I’m an incredibly young uncle. Anita, the middle child has two young boys; Oliver and Hugo. Only separated by one year from his brother Oliver, Hugo was two years old when our family was shocked with the news that he had been diagnosed with the Autism Spectrum Disorder. Being true to myself, at the time I wasn’t aware of what autism was. I just knew that it was a disability and that Hugo had it.

As one week rolled into another, I spent more time with my family, and with this; Hugo and I formed a formidable bond. He couldn’t communicate properly, but I still understood what he was going through. I became more aware of what Autism was and I was intrigued in finding out more about the disorder. It was evident that his speech was delayed and he had trouble in staying calm. I also found it fascinating that Hugo made little eye contact with other people. I did some further research on the disorder, and I was stunned by how severe things could get.

One night later that week (I think it was a Thursday night), I asked my mum if a friend could come over. In the long run, fortunately this time she said the dreaded ‘no’. I say fortunately because I responded in poor style and went to my room and sulked, for this was the moment that truly changed my life. As I sat and stared at my bedroom ceiling, I questioned myself about how selfish I was being. I thought of Hugo, and everything he and his parents were going through. The first three things that popped into my head were the costs just to live, the emotional toll and how hard it was just to go to the local store. The figure that dazed me the most was that ABA (Applied Behaviour Analysis) therapy could cost up to $190 per hour. It was inevitable that I wanted to help, so I sent my sister a message and asked if I could visit and speak to them on that weekend. Typically, she instantly stressed and jumped to the conclusion that something was wrong, but I assured her that everything was ok.

As I dwelled on the idea for the next few days, I finally ended up at Hugo’s house to speak with Anita and her husband. To be fair, I don’t blame them for having no clue about why I wanted to arrange a time to visit; for I hadn’t really spoken to them much about Hugo and his Autism. This is probably due to my personal perception of ‘feeling bad’ for them. I didn’t know how to deliver that I had an idea to open a charity in Hugo’s name, but somehow I found a way and Anita’s eyes instantly began to water. For her, this was an emotional time due to the fact that someone had actually recognised the disability that had rocked our family, and also extended a hand to help Hugo.

Many ideas were thrown around regarding how the organisation would run, but I assured Anita that I didn’t want her or her husband involved too much, they were to be the beneficiary and we were to be those extending our hands. The main aim was to provide support to their young family and to boost Hugo’s hours of therapy from 8 per week to the required amount of 20, all whilst raising vital awareness along the way.

Following a small amount of publicity, responses were mixed and many people told me that I couldn’t run a charity; ultimately they treated it as a bit of a joke. I don’t think many people thought that I had what it took to run a successful organisation, and many thought that it might slowly fade out following a couple of fundraising events. These reactions did nothing but make me even more determined. Despite my youth and inexperience, I still believed that I was up for the challenge and I wasn’t going to let anyone get in my way. My boots were full, and along with balancing schoolwork, sporting commitments and social life, things were about to change forever.

My name is Luke Williams, and as the founder of Lend a hand to Hugo, it makes me incredibly proud to continuously witness the multi-coloured Autism ribbon featuring the 'Lend a hand to Hugo' name being spread around Australia.

Through guest writers and those who have experienced Autism first hand, this blog page will feature weekly blogs with one aim; to bring light to the Autism Spectrum Disorder, raising awareness for those affected.