‘Autism Awareness Project’ with @Rjscott_author #Spotlight #LightItUpBlue

Hi guys and gals I am Bethany, reviewer for Rainbow Gold Reviews.  Today I am talking about something near and dear to my heart.  Autism and Autism awareness.  Last year I published this post, The healing powers of a hug.  It was a post that hits very close to home for me.  What I failed to mention is the person in that post is my cousin.  One that I looked up to my entire life, and as we got older I grew very close to.  So close that our sons were born 2 days apart.  And her son, who I refer to as my nephew, was diagnosed with Autism when he was around the age of two.  And it hit all of us hard.

You see her family and mine all live in the same town and the idea of not having them close just doesn’t sit well with me.  So when we found out my nephew was Autistic, well it his us hard and knocked us on our asses.  Cause this was something up until 6 years ago no one in our family had any knowledge of the disease.  But the fact of the matter was that they were now faced with a reality that they never envisioned for their son.  And when something like this affects one, it affects us all, no matter how large or how small.

We were lucky my nephew is a highly functioning, and there are times when I forget he is Autistic.  Because when I stop to think about it, his Autism does not define him, it is just a part of who he is.  Just like brown eyes don’t define me, or the fact my oldest likes Star Wars.  It is just a small part that makes up the awesome person inside.  I said it last year and I will say it again, we need to bring Autism to better light.  We need to talk about it more, research it more, understand it more.  So I encourage you to light it up blue on April 2nd in honor of Autism Awareness.

Thank you all for stopping by and letting my tell you why this is near and dear to me.

*Autism now affects 1 in 68 children and 1 in 42 boys

*Boys are nearly five times more likely than girls to have autism.

*There is no medical detection or cure for autism

RJ Scott: Autism Awareness Project

I would also like to give a BIG THANK YOU to RJ Scott for letting us help put with the Autism Awareness Project.