Please help me support by making a contribution to my fundraiser and sharing this page with your family and friends. Every dollar I raise will advance Organization for Autism Research's great cause! 


WHY I PERSONALLY RUN FOR AUTISM?

At three years old, I could tell my son was different. He was enrolled in a nearby daycare and after three weeks, they asked me to unenroll him. I remember the daycare director had an apologetic look on her face as she explained why they couldn't keep caring for him.

She described my son pacing, circling the room, and covering his ears when younger children cried. She described him not speaking to anyone, literally no-one. He was there for three weeks without saying a single word. He would lay on the carpet, fixated on the spinning wheels of a toy trash truck.

I assumed he was just getting used to his new surroundings. I assumed he had a speech delay. I assumed it would pass. I assumed.

And then she asked me, "Have you thought about having him evaluated for autism?"

The next 18 months were a whirlwind of insurance calls, doctor visits, and waiting lists, all just to get him a full evaluation. I did my research. Night after night, I read about autism spectrum disorder (ASD) to educate myself. I spent hours poring through articles and research studies to learn more about my son and how best to support him.

It's been 7 years since our diagnosis. We still struggle with behavioral issues and learning challenges. My son is 12 years old and although we have a lot of work ahead of us and we always will, he knows he has his family's full support. We will always be here to support him and love him unconditionally.

I will forever have a place in my heart for parents of children with ASD. Raising a child, especially an autistic child, is draining to say the least. There is a constant lack of sleep and perpetual exhaustion. I know this to be true. We are strong when we need to be, and weak when nobody is looking. We often put ourselves at the bottom of every list and go without so our children have what they need.

I am running for you. I am running for me. I am running for us.


Here are some of the ways that OAR uses the funds raised by the RUN FOR AUTISM team:

$10 provides a Curriculum in a Box professional development set to general education teachers.
$25 provides 15 copies of A Guide to Safety to families and first responders.
$100 provides the Kit for Kids peer education resource to an entire elementary or middle school.
$150 provides 100 copies of a Life Journey through Autism guidebook sent to a community support group or military installation.
$1,000 provides a research grant for a graduate student studying autism.
$3,000 provides a scholarship for a student with autism to attend college.
$40,000 fully underwrites an applied research pilot study.