In The Community, 5 mothers inspire more hope
Last week I had the fortune to spend the morning advocating with Holly Robinson Peete, Tisha Campbell Martin, Dawn Neufeld and Areva Martin. The topics we discussed to a room full of advocates and parents alike were all encompassing, and like all my public appearances, I left with a full heart — but even more questions.
Perhaps one of my greatest take-aways from this event hosted by the Special Needs Network, was that there is still so much dissension and divisiveness in the Autism community for a number of reasons. As we know, with no ONE cause, there is no ONE cure for Autism. It remains difficult for parents to navigate through the minutia of endless paperwork, doctors visits, therapists Q&A, IEP meetings, genetic testing — all to get to the ever elusive questions: “What is it and how do I fix it”. Tisha Campbell Martin said it best, “I need to know “the why”, because it fills in so many other gaps.” This morning on The Today Show, Robert DeNiro fearlessly proclaimed “Let’s Find Out The Truth”, because causation for Autism seems to be something nobody wants to discuss openly, and find honest answers. As a well informed parent, I find it difficult to trust medical professionals and the scientific community, when those very same people are dismissive and unbending in their philosophies that something in fact has gone wrong somewhere in the past few decades. Otherwise, the rise in Autism wouldn’t be so prevalent. We are entitled to question status quo. We are entitled to protect our children as their first line of defense. We should not be shamed into darkness or isolated in our quest for answers. The CDC, Big Pharmacy, the medical & science fields and parents should ALL be working towards a common goal, and stop being so divisive. We need open discussions in order to seek and arrive at truth. To that end, I will participate in as many informative, think-tank sessions with my fellow colleagues and parents of children on the spectrum. It is my sincere hope that our unified voices will ultimately bring forth change. I wholeheartedly am very ready to move beyond awareness to ACTION. #BeTheChange #AutismAwarenessMonth
