Just the other night, my wife and I took our oldest son Evan to the Royals game, leaving our youngest son Quin at home with the baby sitter. It was a perfect night, beautiful weather, great seats, and a big Royals win! Throughout the night I was amazed at how much Evan was enjoying the experience, he was all smiles the whole night through! That night made me realize just another of many ways our family is impacted by Autism.
It’s been 3 years now since Quin was diagnosed with Autism. Every family outing revolves around Quin in that every decision we make starts with “can we do this with Quin, will he participate, how do we prepare him, is it even worth trying?” These are questions every parent of a child with Autism asks. As a result, Evan misses out on a lot of things, just because he happens to have a little brother with special needs. To this day, I’m still learning how Autism impacts a family. And I imagine how families cope with more severe cases of Autism than we do. I’m sad that Quin wasn’t there with us that night, but it was refreshing not dealing with all the challenges Autism brings us on a daily basis. It was bittersweet.
On September 23rd, I will be participating in the Kansas City Walk Now for Autism Speaks.
Autism Speaks is an organization that helps families like ours learn to deal with the challenges Autism brings into our lives. They provide us kits that include information to help us know what to do help our children with Autism, where to go for help, and connect us with resources that can provide assistance. They help with what the Autism community know as “The Transition”, which is the journey from being a child with Autism to being an adult with Autism. They advocate for us with legislators to promote research and assistance, and to keep pressure on insurance companies to provide coverage form medically necessary therapies for children with Autism. They reach out to communities to not only raise awareness, but also to assist schools in understanding and supporting students with Autism.
Please help me support Autism Speaks and all they do. We need to add some people to our walk team, so please join Our Mighty Quin. It’s an inspiring event to witness, seeing thousands of people that come out to show they care. If you can not make it to the event, please consider making a donation, which can be done easily by going to my donation page.
Anthony R. Rezek
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