[Epic 4G General] ptfdmedic:
In honor of Autism Awareness month I wanted to share this. I know it's off topic but I truly feel it's important. Thanks in advance for giving me a few minutes of your time.

By now most of you are familiar with my personal quest to spread Autism Awareness from using my midNIGHT ROM or reading my Lost and Tired blog. For anyone not familiar with me or my mission I'll briefly share my story. I'm the father to 3 Autistic boys. Emmett is 2 1/2 years old. Elliott is 5 years old and Gavin is 11 years old. Life on the very best of days is a struggle for survival. My kids are AMAZING and I love them more then anything in the world.

The problem is that world is not always understanding. In fact it can be very cruel. The things I have heard people say about my kids or kids like them is disgusting and ignorant. Families like mine are very often judged harshly and unfairly by people unaware of what's on. There have been several occasions my kids have been referred to as "retards" by people in my own neighborhood. My kids may not understand what they mean, but I do. I can't explain the restraint I must show in order to not draw attention to what was being said. It literally breaks me to hear things like that.

My mission is to spread Autism Awareness to anyone willing to have an open mind and open heart. I want people to understand what life is like for my family and families like mine. My kids are EXTREMELY intelligent as are most if not ALL Autistic kids. They struggle in the area of social interaction and tend to have MAJOR sensory issues. Imagine if you couldn't help but hear EVERY SINGLE sound around you. Ticking clocks, buzzing lights, the whirling of the ceiling fan and even people breathing. When I say "hear" I mean these sounds are deafening and overwhelming as they have little or no ability to filter these things out. Did you know that's the most common reason Autistic kids to have meltdowns? They take in the ENTIRE world through all of their senses at one time and it is COMPLETELY overwhelming to these children. That is why they meltdown not because they are "brats" as many people incorrectly assume.

The way I see it is if people are more "Aware" of what's going on then maybe they can show understanding, support and compassion instead of cruelty, ridicule and judgement. I share my story as honestly as I do because I want people to be able to emotionally connect on some level. That's when Autism Awareness takes root and grows naturally.

I wanted to take a moment and ask everyone to help me spread Autism Awareness. April is Autism Awareness month. I ask that you show the same support for other families like mine that you do for me. Most of us have become isolated because no one understands. If you know anyone like that please reach out to them. Teach your kids to show compassion at an early age. You have no idea the positive impact you can have. I can honestly tell you that there have been some pretty dark moments for recently. I found strength in the kind words from people in this community. Please share my blog so others can become aware as well. Do what you can to remind people this is Autism Awareness month.

I want to thank you all for the making a difference in my life and helping to make the world a more understanding and compassionate place for my kids and all special needs kids and their families. I'm proud to be a member of this community and I look forward to working with all of you in the future. I would also be happy to answer any Autism related questions you may have as well.

If anyone would like to show support for Autism Awareness Month Johnny Bravo and I put together a banner. It's not branded with midNIGHT ROM or anything like that but it does link directly to my blog. It's not about a ROM it's about Autism Awareness. Please feel free to use and share it. I have attached the code.

Thank you for listening and thank you for support....