Autism Advocate YYZ

This afternoon, I presented my annual World Autism Month statement in the Canadian House of Commons as Jaden looked on from the gallery. Please take a minute to watch and share. 🙂 "April is World Autism Month and now 26 years since my son Jaden was diagnosed. Since then, I've embarked on an unanticipated lifetime of learning experiences. For example, I've learned at home to always check for finger lines in the butter dish... or cupcakes... or just food, generally. I've learned that an urgent 'ba-ba-ba-ba-ba' in the car often means an iPhone left behind or a missed Google Maps turn. More importantly, I've learned that we tend to wrongly divide the world into people who give help and people who need help. In reality, as human beings, we are - at various times - helpers or helped, sometimes both at once. Deciphering what Jaden needs or wants is often incredibly hard. But what I learn in the process – waiting on him, paying attention to his non-verbal communication, and assuming he has something to say – these lessons help me in every human interaction I have. And right now, finding ways to better understand one another is something our world needs more than anything else."