As we just passed the second month of delivering services to families in New Braunfels and the surrounding areas, I’ve been able to reflect on so many experiences that I have encountered in that short time.
First, I have heard so many statements that resemble the following:
“Before you opened up here, we were driving two hours every day to access services.”
This made me realize how difficult it can be to access services even in populated cities and also made me thankful to be part of an organization that continues to plant clinics in areas of need.
My second thought stems from the first. No one can ever doubt how resilient and strong parents and families are that have children with Autism. They take on new challenges everyday and find ways to make things happen, whether it be finding ways to drive two hours every day aside from other familial responsibilities or coming up with the greatest master schedule ever that allows their child to access a myriad of services (ABA, OT, Speech) on a weekly basis.
The third realization I have come to is how much our community as a whole, not just families affected by autism, need to be educated about Autism. With the prevalence with which Autism is being diagnosed, there is still so many people who don’t exactly know what Autism is, let alone ABA therapy. Things we can do to help spread awareness are urge our schools to participate in Autism Awareness month, call for trainings for our first responders, and continue to participate in support groups and events that support families affected by Autism.
As the months go by, I look forward to participating in home town events to disseminate information about Autism and ABA therapy and doing my best to help families in any way I can.