In last week's SNJ we reported the fundraising efforts of Kara Westermann-Childs and her friends, who are preparing to bare all to raise money for Kara's autistic daughter Rosie. This week, reporter Will Saunders met Kara and her partner Andy Morris to talk about the difficulties of bringing up a child with the much-misunderstood condition.

AT first glance Rosie Morris is just like any other four-year-old. With pretty blonde hair and blue eyes, she bounds around her parents' home in Uplands, Stroud with joyful enthusiasm, running across the living room before giving her mum a cuddle.

But Rosie is not like every other four-year-old. She is severely autistic, which means she has great problems understanding and reacting to the world around her.

The signs of this disability are subtle.

Most obvious is the fact that, while most four-year-olds are chattering happily away, Rosie cannot talk or read yet.

When her mother calls her name she often doesn't react.

Sometimes she just stands and stares in apparent fascination at things which the rest of us take for granted - the movement of a pen, an upside-down book, new faces.

"We started to realise there was a problem when she was about 15- months-old," said Rosie's 31-year-old mum Kara Westermann-Childs.

"She wasn't talking yet and although everyone was saying that children develop at different rates I felt there was something wrong.

"But at that point we didn't want to know - we just wanted to enjoy her without labels."

Rosie was diagnosed when she was three.

By then Kara and her partner Andy Morris, 33, had already begun the uphill battle of teaching her to cope in a world she has huge difficulty in understanding.

"It can be very frustrating," said Andy. "Sometimes when you are teaching her it feels like you are putting in 100 per cent but only 10 per cent is going in.

"It is frustrating for her too at times as she is not able to tell us what she wants, whether she is hungry, thirsty or whatever. That is the part that causes the most problems."

Kara added: "Living with a child with autism affects your life in so many ways. A simple shopping trip to Stroud is a major event.

"In a caf she will try everyone's food, climb on everyone and touch their hair. She is fascinated by hair.

"This shocks people because physically she appears perfectly normal and they cannot understand why she is crossing these social boundaries."

With these difficulties in their day-to-day life, you would expect their household to be a rather unhappy one. But it isn't.

Both Kara and Andy seem perpetually cheerful - and are very positive about their daughter's problems.

"She is a very contented child," said Kara. "She is such a happy little soul and really loving to everyone.

"To us it is rather charming that she does not discriminate between anyone. She expects everyone to accept her for who she is - just like we do."

The couple have found that music is one way to get to Rosie.

She can sing the tunes to dozens of songs and nursery rhymes - although she cannot sing the words - and they hope to use her gift for music to help her learn.

"She has a really good ear and uses different tunes to express emotions," said Andy. "She has a certain tune she sings when she is happy and when she is upset she will do Sing a Song of Sixpence in a really angry way."

"It has been really useful," added Kara. "To explain she was going to school I would sing a certain song, so she would know what was happening."

She says Rosie also has a good relationship with her little sister Grace, despite the fact that at 16-months-old the younger sibling is already outstripping Rosie in her communication skills and self-awareness.

"She loves Grace and sometimes they have really sweet moments together," said Kara. "They do not have a classic sibling relationship but they do love each other."

"We have already seen Rosie make some progress by following what Grace does," added Andy. "I think that is going to increase as they get older, we can see Grace playing the 'big sister' role very well - Rosie will want to copy things."

Intent on securing a bright future for Rosie despite her autism, and frustrated by her progress at special school, the family have set their hopes on a groundbreaking teaching system called Growing Minds, a combination of play-based learning and intensive programs that breaks learning down into small and simple steps.

"These intensive courses have worked wonders for other autistic children," said Kara, "and we want to give that chance to our very special girl."

But the course, which involves a training trip to America and specialist help, does not come cheap.

The couple have to raise £17,000 for the year - hence the forthcoming 'Full Monty' show and a raft of other fundraising plans.

And despite the huge challenges they and Rosie are yet to face in their lives, this happy and optimistic family are determined to weather the storms.

Kara added simply: "We are going to give her a fantastic life." The Full Monty dance show is at the Space in Lansdown, Stroud on Friday, September 16 at 8pm. To make a donation contact Kara or Andy on 01453 768522.