Meet Shaun: My 1 in 68 {Autism Awareness Day}

This is Shaun.

• He is 7.5 years old and in the 1st grade.
• His birthday is August 4th.
• He loves video games, computers, comic books, and all things 'nerdy'.
• He has been the '#1 all-time-Thomas-fan' since he was just two years old.
• He loves Veggie Tales, What's in the Bible, 3-2-1 Penguins and reading his Bible stories.
• He taught himself to read at around 2 years old, and has been an avid reader since (though he's quite picky on his reading selection.)
• He loves movie openings and can often tell you who made what movie, sometimes even the year! His favorite is 20th Century Fox.
• He has an amazing memory...near photographic.
• He loves Legos and can create some pretty spectacular creations!
• He writes his own comic books... usually about robots.
• He plans to one day build his own robot (to clean his room, of course!)
• He also plans to one day run Microsoft, Nintendo AND Apple.
• He plans to go to space one day. He loves all things science and space.
• He loves his baby sister more than anything in this world.
• Babies in general too... he cannot resist loving on every baby he meets.
• He is much more technologically savvy than any child I've met...and most grown ups as well.
• He loves the color blue.
• He is a master at Angry Birds.
• He is great at math too. He taught himself addition in preschool and has recently started to pick up the very basic beginning pre-algebra (2 +  X = 5, what is X?)
• He is a bundle of energy. He is always in constant movement, from the moment he wakes up until the exact moment he decides to fall asleep... it's like a light switch.
• He is a Tiger Scout...and loves camping.
• He loves learning, and won't stop until he knows it all! He has recently started learning more about bees and honey...and cannot get enough info!
• He thinks fart jokes are the best. And other gross things too.
• He loves learning magic tricks.
• He loves 'retro' games and movies- Super Mario, Pac Man, Star Wars, Back to the Future...
• He wants to build a time machine.
• He placed third in his Cub Scouts Pinewood Derby this year- his first time!
• He plays soccer- he's not super athletic, but he plays with his whole heart.
• He loves hamburgers with no mustard and no sandwich pickles. He loves pickles, but not on his sandwiches...he says he's allergic.
• He doesn't like rated R words (or movies) and will only play games that are rated E or E-10.
• He's very persistent.
• He hates haircuts and the THX logo.
• His favorite Smash Bros character is Master Hand.
• He runs on his own operating system called Shaundows. It updates every year on his birthday.
• His favorite computer operating system is Windows XP.
• He hates loud noises and explosions... and the movie Cars.
• Spongebob is the worst.
• He has autism.

Shaun is a pretty amazing kid, one that I am proud to call my son. He is super smart, super fun and super sweet. He has his struggles, but he also has his triumphs. In his 7.5 years, he has had to fight harder than any child his age should have to. He's faced challenges and judgement from both peers and grown ups alike. He is just one of the 1 in 68 individuals with the diagnosis of autism. All have their struggles and all have their assets. All deserve respect and understanding.

Today is Autism Awareness Day, this month Autism Awareness Month. Our hope today and everyday is to show that autism is not a death sentence. Despite the challenges, kids like my Shaun are absolutely amazing. They have so much to offer this world, if only we can look past the diagnosis and give them the chance. If only we can stop judging, and start showing understanding and compassion.