Increasing our Understanding of Autism with the CEO & Co-Founder of PEAK
Marco Cetara, co-founder of PEAK,
After winning our charity giveaway, we spoke with Marco Cetara, CEO and Co-Founder of Parenting Empowered Autistic Kids (PEAK), to explore the story behind the charity, the impact it is making for autistic children and families, and how initiatives like Golden Valley can support its mission.
In 2020, Marco and Amy Cetara founded Parenting Empowered Autistic Kids (PEAK), a charity dedicated to supporting families, educators and professionals living or working with children on the autistic spectrum.
As the winner of our recent Golden Valley charity giveaway, we sat down with Marco to hear more about the inspiration behind PEAK, the challenges families face, and how the charity is helping autistic children reach their potential.
A Charity Founded on Understanding with Bespoke Support at Its Core
The complex and overwhelming circumstances of living or working with someone with autism are almost impossible to fully grasp without lived experience. But with one in 100 children and around 700,000 people in the UK diagnosed with autism, the need for greater awareness and understanding has never been more pressing
“The reason we set up the charity was because I have a neurodivergent son with autism. One of the challenges his mother and I had was navigating around the understanding of his needs, the social challenges that he faces, but also the challenges in society to understand and support his needs as well.”
While there are some generic support networks available, the realities of autism call for something more tailored and compassionate. A bespoke approach recognising the unique circumstances of each individual and their family is what’s needed.
“One of the things we came to understand quickly was that there wasn’t a lot of support out there, especially not a lot of bespoke support. We thought, wouldn’t it be great if there was that one person you could have a conversation with, who would sit there and listen to your story, your family circumstances, and support you through that process. PEAK was born from that idea.”
In devoting themselves to supporting their son, out of the goodness of their hearts, Marco and Amy naturally shared their knowledge to help others navigate their own family circumstances. After just a single year, they’d already supported 100 families with independent advice. Fast forward another five years, and with such a demand for their support, the need and opportunity to create PEAK became abundantly clear.
Lighting the Path for Children, Families, Educators, and Professionals
“It’s not about what the parent wants or the schools want, it’s who the child is, and helping that child understand, like I help my son. […] Every child has the right to develop and reach the highest possible potential they can.”
As ‘Parenting Empowered Autistic Kids’, the main aim of PEAK is to ultimately help young people with autism reach their peak potential. At the heart of this mission, PEAK offers advisory and advocacy support services, pre and post diagnosis, that operates to the bespoke needs of the family circumstances.
These advisory and advocacy support services include the following:
· Parental Guidance
· Child Development
· Professional Consultations
· Educational Healthcare Plans
· Documentation Support
· Mediation
· Community Support Groups
· Additional Bespoke Support
By taking a bespoke approach to address the challenges of autism, PEAK has been able to help countless families and drive significant impact across its wider community.
Despite “Autism” being the word to describe a person with the condition, it’s essential we recognise that the challenges for each child and family are distinctly individual and complex.
“When you’re specifying around autism, one of the things to understand is it’s a continuous area of growth and understanding. […] Do they have hypersensitivities? Or do they have hyperintensity desires? For every autistic person, that can be different.”
What sets PEAK apart beyond their bespoke approach is the comprehensive support they provide, offering guidance for pre- and post-diagnosis, while remaining accessible from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. to accommodate the needs of working families.
Education and development lie at the heart of PEAK’s mission. From helping children find the right schools to supporting teachers and fostering collaboration between families and professionals, they support every aspect of a child’s learning journey.
Moreover, PEAK addresses broader challenges that families may face, including homelessness, housing issues, school exclusions, criminalisation, and court proceedings.
“The centre of the work we do is always what is best for the child, and we are that independent, objective, bespoke service that does just that. […] We work with the families, we work with the children, social services, family support workers […] They all contact us for advice and guidance.”
Adapting Our Environment to Accommodate Autism
As part of the greater understanding and awareness to support autistic children and neurodiversity as a whole, it’s vital for projects like Golden Valley to do all it can to encourage education and development across the spectrum.
Speaking to Marco shows that even the most minute details inside an environment can make a big difference between a child being comfortable or on edge. With autism, the first thing to recognise when designing your environment is how it may impact the senses.
“When an autistic person is in an environment, how is their sight, hearing, taste, touch, and smell being affected?”
Sight can be affected by bright lights, touch by sticky surfaces, and smell by strong cleaning products. These sensory sensitivities all influence how a child experiences their environment and can be the difference between thriving and struggling.
Rather than striving for a “perfect” environment from the outset, the most meaningful way to support neurodivergent individuals is to offer flexibility and choice. That might mean dimmable lights, adjustable temperatures, quiet areas to retreat to, or practical tools such as ear defenders to block out noise. It’s all these small adjustments that can make a world of difference.
How Partnerships Can Unite Our Collective Awareness
Speaking with Marco offered invaluable insights into the world of autism and how projects like Golden Valley can gain greater awareness to truly accommodate neurodiversity. But beyond these reflections, Marco also shared a powerful lesson on the nature of partnerships.
“I do believe in partnerships. The challenge is finding the partners with the same passion to support what you’re trying to achieve.”
The Golden Valley Project encompasses multiple communities and organisations under one banner. While this offers us an incredible opportunity for collaboration, it also presents a tremendous responsibility to ensure inclusivity and equality remain at its essence.
“One of the challenges I’ve seen with partnerships over the past few years is that there are a lot of organisations that struggle to trust, understand, and work with organisations like PEAK and others who are independent.”
As Marco highlights, trust lies at the heart of every successful partnership. Authority, experience, or size can’t be the only thing that determines what happens at Golden Valley. Instead, we must listen to every voice within the community. Only by listening to the lived experiences, needs, and concerns of those we serve can we become better partners.
“Sometimes we need to listen a little bit more to the disruptors. We shouldn’t keep going with the status quo because the status quo isn’t working. We need fresh ideas. Just because an organisation is new, doesn’t mean it doesn’t have a good idea.”
From listening to lived experiences to rethinking how environments are designed, Marco’s insights highlight how much we can learn by putting children and families at the centre – something we are committed to at Golden Valley as we shape an inclusive community for the future.
If you would like to learn more about the work of Parenting Empowered Autistic Kids or access their resources, visit the PEAK website.
For further discussions and insights about the Golden Valley project and the wider community contributing to this landmark project, please visit our ‘Insights & Events’ page.