Why I do what I do:
I discovered the blog, Diary of a Mom, in 2012. Several members of my extended family are on the autism spectrum, affected in different ways with different symptoms and in different degrees. I was motivated to learn as much as I could about autism, and I devoured her blog. It was quite a perspective-shifting experience.
And then I started reading the links she shared to AUTISTIC bloggers. And my world shifted. Autistikids was born out of a desire to give parents easy access to autistic voices.
As the 1 year anniversary of Autistikids approached, I found myself driven to do more. And one thing kept drawing me back - the memory of reading about "diagnosis day" at Diary of a Mom:
Middle Ground by Diary of a Mom
"When my daughter was first diagnosed with autism at the age of three, I was terrified. I will never forget the day that I saw the word in print for the first time. In a blur, I ran from my desk and made my way through the corridor to the ladies room at work. There was no air in the rest room. The walls closed in as if in a nightmarish fun house. I couldn’t breathe. I gagged. I heaved over the toilet and clutched the cool porcelain like a life line. I nearly threw myself into the wall just to FEEL SOMETHING ELSE. I didn’t know what to do with the fear and the rage. I swallowed them. I lost words. I couldn’t function. When I finally found words, they were, ‘How did I not do anything earlier?’ over and over and over again.
Autism was HUGE then – a terrifying beast of mythic proportions that I neither knew nor understood." READ MORE
I've seen these feelings echoed over and over by parent bloggers. They found peace, but that peace was a long time in coming.
I've read the words of autistic adults who devoutly wish that their parents could have had support and hope, instead of fear and desparation.
It is my hope that I can be a bridge for parents to a place of peace, so that their journey of understanding begins on firm, supportive footing. We deserve it, and our children deserve and need it.
Thank you.
I've read the words of autistic adults who devoutly wish that their parents could have had support and hope, instead of fear and desparation.
It is my hope that I can be a bridge for parents to a place of peace, so that their journey of understanding begins on firm, supportive footing. We deserve it, and our children deserve and need it.
Thank you.
