april 2nd

this post has been a work in progress for awhile now. it's been something i have wanted to share for awhile and why i would have loved to have it all written and done on exactly april 2nd, which just happens to be autism awareness day, i still want to share why that day is so important to me. 

last year i wrote this post about how we like to celebrate autism awareness day. i also shared fisher's story that i wrote for icnn. this day has become a big deal in our household and each year it becomes more of event then the year before. next year i am thinking of blue food and balloons and more reasons to celebrate. 

this year i want to share with everyone exactly why spreading the word on autism awareness is so important to me, to my family, to Fisher. i originally got this idea from an amazing writer/blogger/mother and autism advocate Laura Shumaker. i read her book "A Regular Guy, Growing Up with Autism" and could just relate to so many stories she shared, mostly the ones with her son's diagnosis. She also posted on her blog the top 12 reasons why Autism Awareness Day Matters to her and I thought it would be a good idea for me to share too.
this day is important to me because i strongly believe that early intervention is the best thing possible. without it, i don't know how far Fisher would be today, but i do know that he has made such huge gains developmentally and socially and just amazes us every single day. to that, i owe it up to early intervention and the AMAZING teachers and aids he has had since his diagnosis.

it's important to me because i have learned so much from my son, and i know he still has so much more to teach me.

it's important to me because of the amazing people i have met, his teachers, his aids and advocates. i have gained so many wonderful and incredible relationships with these people, i cry when they leave and i love when they keep in touch. Fisher's teacher now is such an inspiring and wonderful person and i will be sad when he moves on to kindergarten, but she is someone that i will keep as a part of our family for as long as she wants... they are all that special and i thank them for their devotion and service.
it's important to me because of the love and support i have from our families, from my friends and neighbors. i get choked up thinking that my sister convinces her whole neighborhood to put in blue light bulbs in their houses for the whole month of april, to see friends and cousins text me pictures of them all wearing blue. i can't express how awesome it is to have so much awesome and amazing support for our one little guy. to know that he is just as special to them as he is to us is just hard to put into words... it's just awesome!
  it's important to me because the number of kids being diagnosed with autism is increasing dramatically and yet we still have no clue as to why or what causes it. more and more families will go through the same experience our family has and yet there is still so little support and help for these families. it's important because we need to get more resources out and help to these beautiful children.
it's important to me because i know one day, Fisher will ask about autism and why he is "different" and i will have to find all of the courage inside me to explain why he is perfect and amazing and wonderful without bawling like a baby. or maybe he wont ask or wonder, but i am sure his brothers will and his sister will and i want them to know just how special their big brother is. i want them to learn about compassion and understanding and the strong love they have for him.
  it's important to me because he is my son. he has part of my soul that no one else does and i love him. i love him so much that i will be his biggest fan and biggest advocate and i will urge others to support him and celebrate him and his uniqueness. he deserves that from us.
  i love how Laura Shumaker ended her list, "On World Autism Awareness Day, prominent buildings all over the world are shining a light on autism by lighting it up blue. That is terrific, but I know what my son Matthew could use today (and every day) is a smile, a joke, a compliment, a connection–a friend."

i could not agree more with that. all fisher wants is to be loved. he loves people, he loves being around them and i know more than anything that if he had a good friend, he would be the happiest kid alive.

i am so proud of our Fisher, of his accomplish and his growth. i honestly can't imagine life without him.