Just 45 days into my SARRC journey professionally, I sat in our CEO, Danny's, office crying and confused. Confused about the behaviors of my then 5 year old. An inability to regulate his emotions, dark thoughts of suicide and thoughts of life being "too hard" at just 5. Where aggression, self-harm, and destruction became a new norm for school and work. Eval after eval with a Developmental Pediatrician, trying to understand what was going on with my sweet Alex. I was then referred to SARRC (my own employer) to complete an ADOS. 

I sat with SARRC's Chief Science Officer, Chris Smith, while he walked us through the process. If you haven't seen Dr. Smith during a clinical assessment, it is absolutely amazing. We went over all of Alex's scores and now despite his findings...we had to wait. Just a few weeks later, our Developmental Pediatrician gave us the news -- Alex has autism. 

Since that day, I have dedicated myself to learning, educating, bringing awareness about autism. Where I was once clueless about autism, I have become an ambassador, a life-long learner, and one of many who bleed SARRC purple.