My journey started in March of 2011 when my oldest son was five years old.  I will never forget the day when his doctor told me he had Oppositional Defiance Disorder, which falls under the Autism Spectrum Disorder Diagnosis.  What on earth is Autism?  How did my son "get" Autism?  Can he outgrow it?  Did I give it to him? Does this mean he can't live a normal life?  All of these things were running through my head.  

When a doctor gives you a diagnosis, they do not give you a manual.  They give you a piece of paper that gives you a diagnosis and pretty much sends you on your way.  Parents often find themselves isolated, feeling alone, having nobody to talk to, wondering where they go from there.  I was that parent.  I started researching and looking for support groups and looking for anything and everything to help my son.  I thought to myself "I can't be the only parent with a child with Autism".  I met another mom, and we decided to start a support group:  Vancouver Washington Autism Mom's Support Group.  We started with just the two of us.  I met with the Arc of SW Washington, and they donated their conference room for us to use for our meeting space twice a month for two hours.  We made flyers, made a Facebook page and used word of mouth.  Month by month our group grew.  We started doing events to bring families together to let them know they are not alone.  We hosted Easter egg hunts, potlucks, summer picnics, and Sensitive Santa events to name a few.  Today our group, along with another group I started called Autism Parents Support, has almost 1500 members and is growing every day.

I consider myself a person who never quits and doesn't give up.  I want to know every resource that is out there to help families.  My goal is to find the resources and share them with families and I have been doing this since the day I learned about my first resource.  I know what it feels like to feel alone and feel hopeless.  I don't want families feeling like this. I want to bring families together.  I want to network with all of the resources out there.  I want to educate families on IEP's and 504's and help them navigate the educational system.  I want to support every single family that needs help.  That is my goal.  I don't want any family feeling alone on this journey.

In October 2024, I started serving a three-year term on the WADDC (Washington State Developmental Disability Council)  . I joined this council because of what they do and the changes we can make together.  WADDC brings together community partners to address critical issues, provide leadership, training, and advocate for equitable policies, programs, and practices on behalf of people with developmental disabilities and their families.  

I look forward to helping serve our Pacific Northwest Families!