As “autism awareness month” begins I wanted to leave you all with a few thoughts.
Throughout the years I’ve done various things to help spread awareness. During that time I’ve come to realize that acceptance of autistic individuals is most important. That doesn’t mean I totally disregard this month. I’ll wear my autism t-shirt with pride tomorrow, I plan to paint my fingernails blue tonight (because 90% of the neurotypical population associates that color with autism and that has nothing to do with Autism Speaks), and you’ll see more memes than normal about autism and how my family accepts it fully.
This page has evolved over the years. My message has always been the same, but for the past few years I’ve noticed a huge battle in the community. Because of that I decided long ago to just be me and tell our story in a way that is respectful to Drake. I’m not bothered by it anymore. If you like what you see here, stay. If you don’t, go. I don’t keep this page for a paycheck. I don’t use my kid’s most tramuatic moments to get likes. I don’t push for popularity all in the name of awareness. Gross.
I have almost 20k people here and I’m happy. I’ll never be a page that has 100k or more. Mainly because the truth tends to make people run the other direction, and that’s ok. If I can help just ONE person have a little hope, and change the way they view autism, then it’s all worth it.
One thing I know for sure, we are autism aware in this house. We live and breathe it every single day. And you know what? I have no regrets. My family is happy. Drake is happy. My marriage is healthier than it has ever been. Drake is loved and supported everywhere he goes. That took hard work, y’all. It’s still hard work, but I’ll never stop pushing for what is best for this kid. It has all been worth it. Autism isn’t a curse, for us it has been a tremendous blessing.
I can’t imagine this world without Drake in it, autism and all.
#autismacceptance
#autismawarenessmonth