A 14-year-old autistic Bedwas girl has helped to organise a glamorous charity awards ceremony.
Holly Salmon suffers from autism, but that did not stop her from organising the event Holly’s Ball, being held in Cardiff in June.
With help from mum Jo Salmon and Caerphilly AM Jeff Cuthbert, the teenager held the official launch of the ball yesterday on World Autism Awareness Day at the National Assembly for Wales.
Holly’s Ball has been running since 2011 and will this year incorporate the Autism Heroes Awards.
Supported by both Autism Cymru and The National Autistic Society Cymru, the awards will recognised people who do outstanding work in relation to the disorder.
Holly’s mother Jo Salmon said: “There are so many people in Wales that are going that extra mile to help children and young people with autism.
“We thought that it would be nice to let people know about this good practice. We also feel that people with autism achieve so much on a daily basis that maybe goes unnoticed. We would like to show you how amazing autism can be through these awards. Although I’m pretty glad that I won’t be on the judging panel as it’s going to be a hard job to decide who wins.”
There are three awards categories in 2013. The Extra Mile Award for those working with children in education. The Outstanding Personal Achievement Award for children or adults, with an autistic spectrum disorder themselves and The Lifetime Achievement Award that recognises people who have made an enormous and positive impact on the lives of people with autism.
The Extra Mile Award will be voted for by the public and the other awards judged by a panel experts including Hugh Morgan of Autism Cymru, Robert Lloyd Griffiths, MD of the IOD and an Autism Employment Ambassador for Wales.
For more information visit www.hollysball.co.uk