Payin' it Forward!

OK, I admit...I'm not the type of person who can sit back and wait for good things to happen. Every time I run into a cause I am passionate about, I tend to dive in. Short term, long term, it doesn't matter. Nothing should be done half-assed.

After many months of navigating the local system of supports for parents of special needs children, it was apparent that something was missing. All these other people had taught me all these useful and wonderful things about dietary and natural (a.k.a biomedical) interventions. These things have helped our son in ways I never imagined. Since I've become more vocal in the community about these things, more moms have approached me about teaching them "the diet". Every time I'd go to a support group meeting, many times the conversation would steer toward biomedical. When open question time came around, many parents started chiming in about dietary topics (me included, because I can't keep my mouth shut about it). However, this led the presenters to stray off their topics and it made me think -- why isn't there a group specifically for biomedical interventions? Why aren't all the parents in our community getting together to talk about where to get food, how to find supplements, who the most supportive doctors are, etc.???

This led me to send out an e-mail asking the moms I knew about their interest in a group like this. The response was overwhelming! This was my cue, and I know it's my calling to bring together all the great local minds that offer hope to parents like me. I'm not really one of those great minds -- just someone who likes to coordinate a way for people to get together and share great information!

Our local ASA (Autism Society of America) chapter is helping me get the word out, and the local parenting newspapers have published information on the first meeting. It's coming up in 2 weeks. I'm reminded of the first couple of support group meetings I attended, feeling a huge sense of comfort, knowing I was surrounded by people who could totally understand what I was going through. It's going to be wonderful to share information both with parents who have been doing biomedical for many years -- and those who are curious as to what it's all about. Thousands and thousands of parents can't be wrong about all this. I'm one of them now, and ready to reach out to the others in my community. Bring it on!!!