Our story with autism My name is Margeiry, I am a Psychologist and I have a wonderful family together with Bernardo (my husband), two children, Juan Miguel (5 years old) and Samuel Elias (1 month old), and Nala, our pet dog who provides companionship and support for Juan, who was diagnosed with autism at 2 years and 7 months old.
Juan Miguel is a loved child, he really is a happy child, with an inspiring and contagious smile and a joyful gaze. He had a development that was as expected for each age period until, after turning 2 years old, he began to show changes in his behavior, some sensory issues, he stopped talking, and little by little he withdrew.
There is always someone who points out to you what you somehow justify so you don't have to see it, because it causes you fear and also pain... a friend told me, apologizing in case it caused discomfort, "have you noticed that Juan seems to understand less and less of what he is told?"... that was our reality check... the message that finally gave shape to what my mind sometimes showed me, and making me accept that it wasn't due to a lack of contact with children his own age among other things, something was happening and it definitely wasn't circumstantial... and our search began to identify what was happening to our beloved son. We have no other family members with an autism diagnosis, nor a history of any other type of mental health issues, but autism knocked on our door and the diagnosis arrived. My husband and I have accompanied and supported each other throughout this process and the different challenges that autism has presented us, but we also have a very special family support network, my siblings.
In the midst of this entire situation and the search to do an activity from home to be able to provide more opportunities for Juan Miguel (quality time, games, therapies...), my sister Marianela, who was able to be present during Juan's evaluation and diagnosis, proposed that we give shape to what had been the party favors for the girls invited to her son Luca's 5th birthday. Initially, we called it Pretty Girly Pins, today it is Re-Do Bricks.
Re-Do Bricks initially was not just an activity; for me, Re-Do was what pulled me out of the hole of fear, grief, uncertainty, and sadness, where most parents enter when we are told "your child has autism" or any other situation that compromises children's health with a "for life" attached to it. Re-Do Bricks was and is, for me, an opportunity to create and to grow. It is because of all this that in our social mission/work, Autism is our motto, so that from our experience and the knowledge we have acquired, we can help other parents, other families, other children.
Today we can say that Autism has a new story, that children have many more opportunities to move forward and overcome the condition in many cases. Autism Spectrum Disorder is a challenge that invites you to create, reinvent, discover the best of yourself and your child, and make the process an adventure filled with emotions, activities, adventures, and from love, with confidence and faith, with optimism, understanding, and comprehension, move forward, because yes it is possible, and children can get better and better. At Re-Do Bricks we wish to contribute to raising awareness about Autism Spectrum Disorder in our community; an accurate diagnosis allows providing the greatest number of opportunities for the boy, girl, adolescent, or adult who has the condition. We also want to help parents, family members, and friends of people with autism, as well as society, to provide spaces for inclusion and integration, and provide them with techniques or tools to serve as agents of constant support in any circumstance. It is important for us to provide appropriate information about ASD that allows distinguishing warning signs and expected behaviors at each stage of development to help with an early diagnosis, and to be able to differentiate autism spectrum disorder from other related diagnoses. The history of autism is beginning to open up to new horizons, breaking paradigms and promoting acceptance, inclusion, and integration. Each puzzle and each lego brick in our pieces represents the strong presence of the consistent construction work of everyone who directly or indirectly has someone with autism in their life, a symbol of faith and love, giving way to imagination and creation.
