Mother with autistic son uses garden path for London Marathon training

A mother is running up and down her garden path to train for this year's London Marathon because she is unable to leave her autistic son. Natalie Silverstone, 45, of Loughton in Essex, runs up and down her 75ft (22m) rear garden path for hours at a time.

As a home tutor and carer to her 13-year-old son Cameron, she needs to train as close to home as possible. "I've been doing this for hours on end," she said. "It has been really dull. Music keeps me going." Cameron has Asperger's syndrome and struggles with social interaction.



He is also sensitive to noise and can be overwhelmed by certain sounds, such as rain against windows and the revving of a car engine. Mrs Silverstone said: "Cameron needs a lot of support and by staying in the garden I'm always close by, even when I'm jogging for miles.

"My training regime might seem a little bit unusual. But it's paying dividends and I know my fitness has really improved over the past few months." She is running the marathon on 21 April to raise money for the National Autistic Society.