She Is... April Special Edition | Page 16

3. I love that you are so supportive and informative about this topic. You are a true worker in the community and have raised so much awareness about Autism. What inspired you to become an entrepreneur by creating Joy of Julian? While going through this journey I felt very isolated and sometimes alienated by others. No one knew how much autism would affect our lives.  I did not feel comfortable speaking with anyone and others assumed they knew how I was feeling rather than just listening. Being the parent of an autistic child is a unique position because you are constantly learning something new each day.  I wanted to create a safe haven for parents who just received the news about their child having autism. I wanted to give the support to parents that I wish I had received which allowed me to give birth to Joy of Julian. The goal is to offer the support and resources to families and remind them that they are not alone. 4.Since you are an educator by profession, do you feel like God prepared you to be able to deal with Autism before you actually had to and knew you would mother a child with autism? God absolutely prepared me for what I about to face with my son.  My passion always resonated with children with special needs for as long as I can remember.  Having a child with special needs was the farthest thing from my mind. I am naturally a fixer and my first thoughts were how can we fix this!  I have never wondered why me, but more so why not me! Everything happens in our lives for a reason and God is always preparing us for the challenges that we will face.  God will give me the tools I need to help Julian every step of the way as he has thus far.