Finding my voice

We all evolve as we learn and grow over the years and for me it is something I welcome. I am at a point in my life where I am really finding myself again. I am rediscovering what makes me happy and that is writing and using my writing for something positive.

I have been drafting stories since I was a kid, seven years old. Back then it was before computers, and I would use a pen and paper to write. Now I can write down ideas that come to me at work in my phone. Being in the field of ABA and working with children with Autism and cognitive delays it is quite easy to be inspired.

One day it finally just hit me when I was working that I wanted to write something that would inspire children and families. I wanted to author a book that would highlight how I feel about Autism. It was more of a need when the inspiration came. That day I decided I would finally become an author. I wanted to be effective in the world and finally felt that using that skill and love for writing could be the way to do that.

Writing my first children’s book was both exhilarating and scary at the same time. It felt good to be putting the ideas to paper. It also felt scary to know I would be so vulnerable one day as to have more than my family read my writing. At the time, my friends did not even know that I use to love to write. I decided it was a chance I had to take.

Writing just feels so easy and natural to me. Each time I sat down to work on a book in the series the ideas and words just flowed out of me. It really felt amazing to be writing again. It was as if I would really lose myself in these imaginary worlds with these characters I was writing. I felt like I had finally gotten back to my roots and rediscovered a passion that truly made me happy.

After I published my first book, I discovered this amazing world of writers or writing community. I started to learn so much about the world of being an author. I also began to realize I had created this platform to bring awareness to others about Autism in a way that had not been done before.

To me Autism is just another way to learn. And in writing my children’s books I can show children and families not only individuals with autism can do anything but there are different techniques in the field of ABA that are helpful. I was able to put into my writing and books things people had not known about before. In creating these characters in these settings, I began a journey that has been a true blessing to not only myself but countless families that have read my books. I have cried so many times in talking to families that said to me they understand their child now. Or told me their aunt, grandmother, uncle etc., now understood their child in a way they did not before leading to a much better relationship. The reviews I have received on amazon of my books always make me tear up too because it is there in writing, for all the world to see, the difference my books are making. Never did I think my books would lead to this incredible platform. I am making a difference in this world. I am changing the stigma surrounding Autism.

It may be a slight change right now, but it led me to start a podcast too. I feel that with my podcast I can reach even more people and do better beyond my books by highlighting authors and organizations that are making an impact in this world too. I now have this incredible network of amazing authors that want to be on my podcast spreading the word of how amazing diversity is. I can talk about my experiences in the field that others may not have had or know about. My one small thing of publishing my first book must led to so many other small important things. It is in these small things that over time momentous changes are made. One person really can make a change in this world, and I am grateful for this platform that I now have.