I have a son with Asperger’s. I am currently on the outs with my mom in law because I refuse to buy into the puzzle piece ribbons,bracelets,etc. I’ve always felt that the merchandising was bullshit designed to make someone money(the head of SGK makes 400K a year? Seriously? WTF?).The MIL and my SIL are huge SGK supporters,also. Their hearts are in the right place,but I’ve always said that it’s a better idea to give money directly to the places doing the hands on work of research and care for those in need. The amount of shit I’ve got for that concept is more than I’ll go into here. There’s also the idea that you have to always be upbeat when dealing with these kinds of challenges or you’re a loser gripes my cookies to no end. It’s ok to feel bad when things suck.

My son is 18,he told me a couple weeks ago he didn’t need any more “awareness” about autism,he’s pretty much aware he has it. He said he’d like people to be aware of what asshats they are to people who are different,all autism aside.