 On April 1, We kicked off the #RoyalBlueForAutismAwareness campaign with the stats that we are working with. So here is what we called our FIRST DAY FACTS:
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 The #RoyalBlueForAutismAwareness Campaign was a dream months ago. 3 days away from April, I would just like to say thank you in advance.
From San Diego to Australia, groups, organizations and individuals have pledged to join us to promote autism awareness via their social footprint. I am already claiming a success because we are going to make it so. We are going to try and be everywhere: Media, Print, and of course, Social Networks.Please remember to tell a friend to look for the hashtag (#RoyalBlueForAutismAwreness) and join us in this campaign. Your shared posts will make a difference! Thanks again and Let's do April! Monika  According to new numbers provided by the CDC, 1 in 68 children are diagnosed on the autism spectrum.
According to independent studies, Black and Latino Boys and Girls across all ethnic landscapes are the most under and misdiagnosed. Although much of this assessment gap is based on preconceived beliefs towards these groups, a major challenge is that there is a lack of information being distributed to the families that are affected the most. With your assistance, we can utilize our electronic footprint to start the conversation about Autism in underrepresented communities. The #RoyalBlueForAutismAwareness Campaign has been designed by the Mocha Autism Network to help close the information gap among all groups so that more identification, assessments and education plans can be made. Its really simple... Just follow the Hashtag (#RoyalBlueForAutismAwareness) on a variety of media Platforms, and share what we post. More information can be found on our campaign page. Thank you in advance for your participation in this campaign. Your Social Influence can effect change! If you have any questions, please feel free to can contact us . Note: Although I will be talking about the seriousness of Autism Awareness, I will be throwing occasional shade on the crazy that is this show, because some of this... Man, Listen... OK, so here's the thing: I TOTALLY watch Love & Hip Hop: NY. Some days are so filled with crazy, you want the scripted "realness" that it provides. Stop shaking your head... There are worse things I could be doing. You are going to have to judge me later because you are about to miss my point. ANYWAY... I was watching last night and besides the usual ridiculousness there was something that was troubling regarding the rapper Saigon and concerns about his son. Let's first talk about the positive steps taken:
See... there were good things that happened in that he was initially proactive in trying to problem solve... That's good. So... After Saigon seeks advice from the guy that doesn't understand why his long term girlfriend won't be with him after he marries his artist (yep, you read that right also...), this happens with Erica Jean, his Son's mother: Sigh...
Follow me on this folks... there is a huge stigma regarding developmental challenges and delays in our children, BLAMING THE PARENT IS NEVER A GOOD ICE BREAKER... Let's start with that. So let's talk about this in the sphere of being a non-custodial parent. You don't know what the mother is doing and when you use these statements and start the conversations with "I'm not around him as much..." Yeah, stop digging... "You aren't as attentive as you should be." <--- This type of statement won't get you the buy in you need for what you want, which is a proper assessment for your child. "I'm Blaming you as the Mother." <--- Yeah, don't say this. Communication has completely broken down at this point. It is because of statements like these that Erica Jean was not receptive to ANYTHING that was presented to her, even if he is right... Sir, You have just called her a horrible Mother, She is out of Give a Damns regarding any opinions you present. So with that out of the way, let's talk about effective ways for parents to discuss observations in developmental challenges and approach possible assessments:
There is a lot of fear among parents surrounding the thought of developmental challenges in their children. This can be heightened by harsh words. Knowing this, everyone has to behave like a grown up to get things accomplished. Believe me, this is nothing compared what you will encounter with all the institutions you will be dealing with,so you need to act as a team. Now if you will excuse me, there has to be some housewife or rapper or something on... Lemme check my TV Guide... 
Dear Neighbors, John F. Kennedy University's Doctor of Psychology program is offering FREE comprehensive assessments for children and teens for a very limited time. The assessments are conducted by advanced doctoral students and supervised by licensed psychologists these assessments usually cost upwards of $3000. Comprehensive assessments can assist students & parents in identifying, diagnosing and advocating for unmet needs to school districts along with providing guidance, techniques, skills and interventions that can be implemented by parents, teachers and students to improve outcomes. If you have a child or adolescent whom you feel would benefit from a comprehensive psychological assessment please contact either Dr. Annie Gutierrez at 925-265-6055 or Dr. Alvin McLean at 925-969-3599. The JFKU Community Center is conveniently located directly across the street from the Concord bart station at 2702 Clayton Rd. Concord, CA 94519 for additional information about services available that the JFKU Community Center please see our page at:http://www.jfku.edu/Locations/Community-Counseling-Centers/Community-Center-Concord.html  There are plenty of "Best Blogs" lists in the Autism Community. In looking at them, a lot of them are mostly the same: not much diversity, and not much different than the year before. We have decided to create a list of our own that shows the diversity of Voices among the Autism spectrum.
Here was the criteria used: ~The blog must be active (honorable mention was given to great blogs that have not posted withing the last quarter.) ~Although there can be other items on the website, there must be a blog that speak on their experiences along the Autism Journey . What makes our list different? Well, because our perspective also includes knowledge of diverse and/or lesser known voices, our list will point out many sites that may or may not have seen on the more popular sites. Here we go (in no particular order): By Monika Brooks There's no question more frequent than the "Why is your child so different?" question. It becomes more prevalent during the holiday season when not so frequent relatives come to visit. There are many "He looks fine to me" inferences from those that think that when you speak about your children neurologically different children. Well, Kathy Hoopmann has a trio of books that are great at not only explaining Asperger's and ADHD to children. It is also a lesson for the Adults that read with them. The bright pictures of Animals in different scenarios will hold the attention of children and adults alike and the captions will dramatically describe the traits for Asperger Syndrome and ADHD to a tee. These books are very encouraging to children that in someways feel out of place in a group setting. It also is great for adults to not only understand and embrace the differences of these great children, the book helps us (adults) explain to others when the questions come (and they will come). This set of books will cost you under $35 and is great for a family that have recently received a diagnosis.  ALL CATS HAVE ASPERGER SYNDROME All Cats have Asperger Syndrome is a great tool to help both children and the grown ups that love them understand how AS works. Always known for their aloof behavior and almost disregard for humans, Cats are the perfect parallel to the traits of a person with Asperger Syndrome.  ALL DOGS HAVE ADHD All Dogs have ADHD, with follows with the theme of All Cats Have Asperger Syndrome, is a great book that is an easy read as well as easily to be explained to both children and adults. The book takes a similar humorous approach to explaining ADHD and its traits by using the traits of dogs.  INSIDE ASPERGER'S LOOKING OUT
Hoopmann's latest book expands to more of our furry friends to explain what Asperger Syndrome looks like from the inside, or the mind, of the person with the traits. Different from All Cats Have Asperger Syndrome, where the book covers how the world kind of guesses whats going on with the person with Asperger's. Inside Asperger's Looking Out focuses on the person with the diagnosis views the world. This book includes traits not mentioned in the previously mentioned book, such as hyper sensitivity and being sensitive to light.  by Monika Brooks Last weekend I was on a Tech Break... I came back to emails and Posts asking me about how I felt about Joe Scarborough. My First Reaction was that he probably said something about the election. Although he didn't want to make "a generalization," MSNBC's Joe Scarborough assumed that James Holmes, The accused person in the Aurora, CO Shooting, was on the "Autism Scale.." and apparently told people so on his show "Morning Joe." sigh Joe Scarborough is given credibility because of his previous position in US Congress and the fact that his Son is diagnosed on the Autism Spectrum. He is a noted author and claims to be a supporter of education programs across the country. Scarborough is someone that has pull in places where Celebs don't... His phone calls on the Hill get answered. So Let's play a game. Lets give into Scarborough's assumption that folks on the "Autism Scale" (in this case Mr. Scarborough pointed out 'Asperger's') "have this Trait. Now let me give you the information that my son was diagnosed on the Autism Spectrum at age 4. Now add the fact that People of Color are being harassed, arrested and Shot at alarming rates around the country. Let's add the information that Blacks/Latinos are the least diagnosed and most suspended in the US School System. Now understand that Scarborough used to be in the position to create laws... Yeah, that's why he is worse than Denis Leary and 50 Cent Combined... It is unacceptable that Scarborough is allowed to provide a half-hearted apology and a say that he will continue to work with the Autism Speaks organization and have folks think its OK. His work so far has not provided him any additional awareness so far, Don't let this slide. His words are no more powerful than yours  In addition to her position as co-founder of the Mocha Autism Network, Monika Brooks is a Leadership and Diversity Consultant, radio host, and Advocate for Parents with children on Autism Spectrum. She can be reached by email here.  by Monika Brooks So I’m watching Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta (Yes, I do watch it. Fight me…) and reading the live tweets as usual and the following tweet comes up: “#LHHATL I think Stevie J may be on the autism spectrum. Serious.” For those of you that are above watching the show, I will explain: He is a musician that says he has 5 Children by 5 different women. He is also a womanizer and a narcissist that you would not only not want near your daughter, you would pretty much not want her in the same state with him. One woman corrected him, pointing out that just because he’s a horrible person, a link to the autism spectrum should not be made. Very good point as some folks can just be horrible with no diagnosis at all. The original poster noted that because of Stevie J’s Inability to check for social cues, that Asperger’s is his guess. The woman was unmoved and said simply: "Because Stevie J is an idiot.....that should not be compared with autism" Completely valid and handled with dignity and poise. No fanfare, no mass promotion. Just a simple correction of someone that heard of Autism and not experienced it first hand. Handled exactly how it should be. Because the post I saw came from someone considered an academic, and he is basically well liked, and is considered a voice of the people, there will be no 50 Cent style outrage. There will be no “this is what Autism looks like” twitter stream of beautiful children and adults on the autism spectrum. There will be no letter from Holly Robinson Peete broadcasted on every form of media and Social Media. Just like there was no protest of the movie “21 Jump Street (which featured a cameo of Mrs. Robinson Peete)” that had a similar “Are you Autistic?” joke. I’m not mad at all. There are specific reasons why certain things are noteworthy and others aren’t. I am personally not mad at the fact that the person posted something that made him seem uninformed. And I am not going to launch a huge protest and here's why: It’s what I call the “Politics of Protest.” There is no “money” in protesting a random person. There is believed to be no more political capital gained in defending folks on the Autism Spectrum to this person as it is for us to defend them against the grandparent, preacher or random parent that tells us parents of children on the Spectrum that we should pray or spank the Autism away. As parents/advocates, we somehow feel more comfortable correcting celebrities than we do folks we know. We go all in on folks like 50 Cent, while folks like our teachers, relatives and neighbors are left uninformed. The presence of social media makes things easier as there is a safe level of distance between us and those we protest. We won’t get the look of disbelief or cynicism that we normally get when we explain the spectrum and our child’s place in it. I would offer that there is more to Autism Awareness than to go after celebrities. We must be strong everywhere starting with the elder that doesn’t understand how you “allow” meltdowns to happen. Then spread out to the teacher that incorrectly calls your child a disciplinary problem instead of looking deeper. Individual protest is needed daily to provide the “protest” we seek for Autism and other Invisible challenges (ADHD, Dyslexia, Etc…). And to that young lady that spoke out because she felt she should speak for those that can't speak for themselves, Thank you! You are part of the solution. About the Author:  In addition to her position as co-founder of the Mocha Autism Network, Monika Brooks is a Leadership and Diversity Consultant, radio host, and Advocate for Parents with children on Autism Spectrum. She can be reached by email here.
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