Autism Awareness

April is Autism Awareness Month.  This is a topic near to my heart.  When my brother Josh was four, he was diagnosed with autism.  At that time, little was known about the disease.  In fact, the only time we had heard the word autism was in the movie Rain Man.  The doctor who diagnosed him told my parents he would basically never be able to do anything.  This was, obviously, devastating to all of us.  That first doctor, however, was wrong.  Josh graduated from high school a few years ago, and will be 26 next week.  While he'll always require assistance, he has grown into one of the sweetest, most genuine people I know and has been a blessing to all of us.  Things have not always been easy with him, but I think my entire family is better for having him as part of it. 

In honor of Josh and all other autistic people and their families, I created this bracelet using the colors of the autism ribbon.