When Hope Day was two, she stopped talking.
"She started off hitting normal milestones," her mum Amanda Keyes said.
"When she regressed at age two, everything paused. I couldn't brush her hair or put her clothes on."
Ms Keyes said she "knew when Hope was about 18 months old".
"I had a gut instinct. I said to my family I'm pretty sure she has autism," she said.
This month, Ms Keyes is aiming to do 7000 steps a day in the Walk for Autism.
The event raises money for inclusion initiatives and research through Autism Spectrum Australia, also known as Aspect.
Ms Keyes said she was doing the walking challenge this month to "help create a more understanding, inclusive world for Hope's future".
"Every step represents advocacy, visibility and support," she said.
Ms Keyes is open about discussing autism with her daughter. She was diagnosed at age four.
"I told her straight away. I didn't want her to think there was anything wrong with her," she said.
"Hope looks at it as a gift, which I'm glad about. If we guide her the right way, then 100 per cent that's what it is. An example is that it makes her more creative."
Speech pathology helped Hope immensely.
"She didn't talk again until age four. Now she does not stop talking," Ms Keyes said.
"She does a lot of work on volume and constructing sentences in the right way - not just blurting something out."
Ms Keyes said Hope's occupational therapist at the Willow Tree Clinic at Kotara had been "amazing".
"She has made enormous progress," she said.
"She has a lot of sensory issues. She won't get in a lift, so we have to take the stairs everywhere we go. Lifts are sensory overload for her.
"We did get past that for a little while. Then we went to Charlestown Square and saw the glass lift. Her body will not go anywhere near one."
Hope works on these kinds of challenges through occupational therapy.
"She has a lot of issues with her vestibular system," Ms Keyes said.
But she said Hope had "come a long way".
"Her school - Glendale East - has helped her so much," she said.
Hope, now 8, sees everything with a sense of awe and wonder.
"She has really opened my eyes. It's like experiencing everything for the first time with her. She's completely changed me," Ms Keyes said.
"Now I meditate three times a day because Hope feeds off my emotions so much. It's for the better. I wouldn't change a thing."
Ms Keyes said Hope was "magnetic".
"People are drawn to her. We called her Hope because we all need a little hope in life," Ms Keyes said.
"I say to everyone, in this case we got a lot of hope because she brings so much joy into all our lives."
An Autism Spectrum Australia statement said this month's fundraiser "brings together individuals, schools, workplaces and communities".
The statement said 70 per cent of autistic people faced mental health challenges "because the world is not autism-friendly".
"By joining Walk for Autism, your steps and fundraising will go a long way to help create autism-friendly environments and deliver services that support autistic people to thrive."
Support Ms Keyes' fundraiser at walkforautism.org.au/fundraisers/amandakeyes.
