I am a single mother with three sons, ages 5, 3, and 1 year old. That's parenting. My boys all have autism. That's extreme parenting. When my first son was diagnosed at the age of 2, I had an advantage over most parents facing autism for the first time. My sister is an autism specialist and a special education consultant. When I needed answers or advice, she was available. Autism wasn't easy, but learning more about it was. Help was just a phone call away. But for most parents who receive the devastating diagnosis, confusion and sadness set in. As they Google everything autistic, they go through alternating periods of panic and courage, loneliness and solidarity, despair and hope. The information that is available is plentiful, yet overwhelming, and sometimes misleading. Somebody needs to organize this mess. That's why I am proud to support the Organization for Autism Research. It provides this organized resource of information, this structured forum for understanding. It uses research to support those dealing with diagnosis, and it raises money to support this research. My wish is that my fundraising efforts can help the Organization for Autism Research give other parents what they need to understand autism and to be a resource for these parents as they decide what to do about it.
|
|
|
