THE PARENTS of an autistic child have been inspired to help others through a daily video blog after being praised for their positive and pragmatic approach.

Dean and Amy Devonport, both 23, from Whitby, are parents to five-year-old Charlie and Poppy, two, and have been documenting Charlie’s progression and the challenges they face for the last three months.

The couple have set up You Tube channel Words for Words – a Day in the Life of Autism which has been viewed by more than 2,000 people.

It started as a fundraising poetry project by Mr Devonport to express his feelings and give his son a voice.

“We started a daily video blog in the summer as that tends to be a difficult time of year because of the pressure of a change of routine," he said.

“The message we want to get across to other parents is they are not alone. It can feel like the most isolating time in the world – and it kills us when people tell us how scary they find it.

“We want to remove the cloud of negativity around autism and encourage people to talk about it more.”

Mr Devonport said he has not seen any other daily video blogs to help parents of autistic children – and that he hopes to spark the interest of charities and organisations so they can help as many people as possible.

“The blog covers the day-to-day of our lives with Charlie, plus we also do focus episodes covering topics such as the diagnosis period.

“Amy did a blog about that time for us and admitted it felt like we had to mourn the loss of Charlie to autism and the life he could have had, which was really honest and brave of her.

“It was a really low point but we wanted to tell people it’s ok to feel like that because it does get better and we wouldn’t change a thing about Charlie – we are so proud of his achievements.”

The couple are also trying to raise money for their local children’s centre for sensory items to help children who have not yet been diagnosed but experience the same challenges.

Mr Devonport added: “I would like to keep the video blog going, I really enjoy it and it is great to look back and reflect on.

“If we continue to get the viewers we will keep going.”

Follow @wordsforwords14 on Twitter.