April 5, 2022, KSLA, Shreveport, LA: Shreveport councilwoman brings awareness to Autism Acceptance Month https://www.ksla.com/2022/04/05/shreveport-councilwoman-brings-awareness-autism-acceptance-month/
April is Autism Acceptance Month, dedicated to bring awareness to people who have the disorder, and assure they are able to achieve the highest quality of life possible.
According to the Autism Society of America, autism affects 1 in 54 people in the United States.
Shreveport Councilwoman Tabatha Taylor’s son, Dominique, was diagnosed with autism at 2-years-old. Taylor said if she didn’t advocate for his disability, no one else would.
“During that time I went through a grieving period because as a parent, I was like, ‘What did I do? Did I do something wrong?’ You began to blame yourself. But, I also knew as a parent there were things I needed to do for my son. My son was going to be facing a world that wasn’t familiar, nor was it accepting of his disability,” she said.
Taylor has done autism walks, and most recently sponsored “Light it Up Blue” on the Bakowski Bridge of Lights for World Autism Day.
“As parents, we were always happy to have an awareness month because for so long our plight wasn’t really heard, and so now when you talk about autism acceptance, it’s because we’ve moved away from the awareness. I think that for most people they are aware of autism. Now comes the acceptance, education and resources needed,” she said.
Taylor said her main goal now is to find those resources that are available for adults.
Councilwoman Tabatha Taylor and her son Dominique
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