A is for Autism Awareness- #AZChallenge

Today is the beginning of Autism Awareness month, a cause that's been near and dear to my heart for the past 5.5 years. Monkey is autistic. He's a funny, quirky, goofy kid but I wouldn't change him for the world. He's come a long way in the world from where he used to be. He used to eat moss out of sidewalk cracks because it was a compulsion he couldn't control. He used to bang his head on the wall and pull his hair out in clumps. He wasn't potty trained until he was 4. He still only eats like 5 foods, and he didn't really walk or talk until he was almost 18 months old. Now he's in preschool and thriving. He's very smart once he learned to calm himself down and think. He's a great big brother to Moose too.

In honor of all the things that he's accomplished and made it through, April is always a big month for us, not only because it's Moose's birthday but because we like to celebrate his quirkiness and break down barriers of what autism is or isn't and ways that you can be supportive of it. One way to do that is to NOT support Autism Speaks. It's a dirty word in our house. They don't support acceptance, but will tell you how you can poison your child to "fix" them. If I were to "fix" Monkey, he wouldn't be the fun, quirky little boy I love.

To help celebrate autism awareness month, my little shop, Rose City Crafter, is offering 20% off all orders $20 or more. We've even made a special shirt just for the occasion. Who doesn't want one of these shirts?!

If you're looking to donate goods or funds this month, consider donating to a family that you know of that is directly affected by autism. You have no idea how much of a huge help it would be, or what a burden it would lift off someone's shoulders. Other charitable networks to consider are "To Autism With Love" which helps low income and single parents of autistic children provide birthdays, holidays, and other fun things that they wouldn't be able to do otherwise. They also have some pretty cool sensory items for sale as well. Any local ASAN chapter is also pretty great. They focus on improving lives of autistic individuals by helping with meetings, jobs, and even support groups to help those around them as well as the individual themselves. 

Well, that's all for tonight! Happy autism awareness month. I'm sure that you'll hear a lot more about it this month than you care to. But it's a pretty big deal, especially with so many kids being diagnosed now. And the one big factor that many seem to forget, these kids grow to be adults. Autism is not something caused by vaccines, or other issues, it is a neurological disorder that is partly genetic.