Advocacy is Never Done

By Melina Chavarria

We have been actively working on getting the word out there about the next issues of Aurtistic Zine.  We decided on the theme of Advocacy because we know first hand as mothers of children on the spectrum, that there are many challenges we face.  Everything from advocating for services at home, accommodations and resources at school, to having people just see the humanity in our children.  To not just see the Autism or the label, but the individual behind it.
We’ve been on Autism Support group pages, talking to parents, asking them to share their stories, and I can’t wait for all of the submissions to start coming in.  I see the posts, I hear you share stories about how you fight to make sure your child is included. How you work to re-educate your families and other people in the community about Autism and trying your best to change minds and open hearts.
Some of these stories are hard to read, but they are the reality of the obstacles that we face.  Even though we have made so many strides as an Autism community in opening doors for our kiddos, we still see daily examples of work that still needs to be done to ensure these individuals have access to resources, and more importantly that they are treated humanely. 
I read post from parents of newly diagnosed children, that are just overwhelmed and terrified for the journey ahead of them.  I want to encourage these parents, and tell them that they are exactly the parent their child needs. There will be days that we will get tired and even feel burned out, but we can’t give up.  We must rest, reflect and get back in there, because Advocacy work is never done.