One of the biggest priorities for Robyn and I with starting F.A.A.S.T. was to provide a link to other families who are having the same struggles we are with autism. I’ve told the story in previous posts of how we got our start, asking our sons doctor about available resources to only be told that none we available. Because this was not what we wanted to hear, it was at that moment that our minds started to formulate what we should do to change that. It was at moment that the mission F.A.A.S.T. would live by was born and a moment that I will not soon forget.
Think back to the moment you received your child’s diagnosis. Did you feel helpless, perhaps hopeless? Maybe you felt as if you were in a huge world all by yourself, only to realize that maybe that is exactly how our children feel, in a world all by themselves. A few days after the diagnosis, you may be asking yourself, where do I find someone to talk to, “where do I get information that says I’m doing
the right thing for my child?”.
Think back to the moment you received your child’s diagnosis. Did you feel helpless, perhaps hopeless? Maybe you felt as if you were in a huge world all by yourself, only to realize that maybe that is exactly how our children feel, in a world all by themselves. A few days after the diagnosis, you may be asking yourself, where do I find someone to talk to, “where do I get information that says I’m doing
the right thing for my child?”.
F.A.A.S.T. Summer Family Picnic, June 18, 2011
One of the best comments I get from parents who we meet is, “I’m so glad there is someone who understands what we go through” and “I’m glad we found someone who can relate and won’t judge me”, they really warm my heart. But there is something that a lot of people may over look from time to time, the need for our autistic children to have someone that understands them and won’t judge. Having the chance to put families together, create a network of support if you will, provides opportunities for ourselves to not feel alone, but for our children not feel alone. I think back to the immediate connection our son Kian made with someone we met through our group, a family with a little boy with the same interests and challenges as him. When you look at the two of them together, it’s like “two
peas in a pod”.If for the couple of hours they played together, both of them
could feel normal, it has all been worth it!
I simply love the opportunity to reach out, to tell people you are not alone and to ease anxiety of being judged for something they, nor their child, cannot control. I am honored that this opportunity presented itself to us and that we can help be a voice to a community that has been silent for so long. I ask that you help me in spreading this voice by sharing your own. As I always say, we are our child’s best advocate and the more we “beat our drum” the louder our voice will become. Be sure to reach out at every chance you get.
peas in a pod”.If for the couple of hours they played together, both of them
could feel normal, it has all been worth it!
I simply love the opportunity to reach out, to tell people you are not alone and to ease anxiety of being judged for something they, nor their child, cannot control. I am honored that this opportunity presented itself to us and that we can help be a voice to a community that has been silent for so long. I ask that you help me in spreading this voice by sharing your own. As I always say, we are our child’s best advocate and the more we “beat our drum” the louder our voice will become. Be sure to reach out at every chance you get.