Raising Autism Awareness, A proud son and thanks to 1st Available.

I was walking down the street today with D19 heading to a meeting. We were fifteen minutes early and so was just reading advertising in the window. Nothing exciting there.

Next thing D19 gets this beautiful smile on his face and points to this advertisement in the window. It was advertising my first real life face to face speech as Mum Talks Autism – sharing not just my story of living with autism times three but also hopefully increasing autism awareness.

I often question if I am doing the right thing. Sharing this journey publicly – this journey that is not only my life but the life of my darling boys.

As I walked down the street with my darling D19 he pointed to every flyer in every window as we came across them with a stunning smile of pride and joy on his face. I will never forget the look of pride that was my son. I think I am making him proud.

I had to laugh as he pointed out to an elderly lady, ‘ that is my mum’ as he pointed to the flyer in the window. Here was my adored boy pointing out to a stranger how proud he was that I was sharing our story. Proud that I was raising Autism Awareness for him. So people can understand him better. I think at that point he was just proud of me as his mum. His face beamed and is a memory I will hold with me forever.

No more wondering if I am doing the right thing I guess. I think the look on his face said it all.

I want to personally thank the wonderful opportunities that have been given to me these coming months. The chance to stand up in front of rooms full of people and share this story.

A story of triumph and hope and overcoming whatever life throws at us. A story of how strong the human spirit is.

There are so many people to thank. (I sound like I just won a Grammy or something ) My family that have supported me on this journey, my darling friends who I could never have done this without, the organisations that have asked me to share this story and given me that opportunity and the wonderful people at 1st Available that have financial backed Mum Talks Autism and whom without I could not travel to do these conferences.

If someone had told me as I buried my darling son ten years ago that losing him would give me the strength to endure anything that life would have thrown at me (including the death of my adored father and three boys with autism) I would have thought you had it so terribly wrong. But that was the case. That was the story. That is this story.

I can not thank 1stAvailable enough. This is not a sponsored post. They have not asked me to write this. They have not asked for anything but have offered me support behind the scenes that have gone above and beyond what any one could ever ask or expect from a dear close friend let alone a business. A business that I have nothing to offer in return.

1st Available have allowed me to travel to spread Autism Awareness by financially supporting everything  that is included in my travel (including interstate travel) to share our story and to raise Autism Awareness.

1st Available are making such a difference in our life and in turn the life of so many people touched by autism. No words can thank them enough.

For the record 1st Available is an online company that allows you to book appointments to health professionals online 24 hours a day from your smartphone (via free downloadable app) or via your computer. All you have to do is register (which is free) and you can book your appointment online. That simple.

I first became interested in 1st Available because of how brilliant it is for me personally. I usually get to do things at 10pm. Not too many doctors or health care professionals open then. But if your health professional is registered with 1st Available you can make them bookings at 10pm. I loved that idea.

If your doctor or health professional is not on 1st Available you can register interest for them to be on 1st Available and then the people at 1st Available will contact them and let them know you would like this service available. The more people that register the more the health professionals will realise that this is something their patients and clients want. It is really a no brained to me. So download the app or click over to 1st Available and register -Not to mention this service is FREE.

I know I got lost there. But as you can tell this is something I am passionate about and something that will make such a difference to access to health care for families across Australia.

The point I am trying to make (in my long winded way) is that the guys over at 1st Available are good people. They have supported Mum Talks Autism and asked for nothing in return. So often you are sponsored by a company with all these conditions put on you. There was none of that with this.

I asked the Executive Officer over at 1st Available once why he was so supportive and helped me share my story when I had nothing to offer in return. He firstly told me I had plenty to offer in return but then he simply said, ‘We believe in you’. I think of that often. On my rough days. Days like today. I remember that this stranger believed in me. Believed in Mum Talks Autism and believed in everything we are trying to do. That meant more than I can ever express and more than they will ever know. 

Just like today, as I walked down the street with my beautiful son and witnessed the look of pride and admiration on his face and the best part was, ‘I put it there’. He was proud of me. Of something I did. Something I am doing for him.

How beautiful is that?

Together we are making a difference. I like to think we are anyway.

Thankyou all, especially my darling boys and the wonderful people at 1st Available for your ongoing support in my endeavor to yell from the mountains for all the little ones that don’t have a voice and are unable too.

Thankyou for allowing me to be that voice, their voice and continue (along with all the wonderful parents out there) to raise Autism Awareness for my boys and hopefully yours as well.

I am linking up with Jess over at Essentially Jess for IBOT (I Blog On Tuesdays)

Mum Talks Autism is proud to be supported by:

Help us build the way for better access to healthcare for all Australians.

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