Every year, 1 in 36 children in the US is diagnosed with autism.

That is wild to me… When Sawyer was diagnosed in 2015, the statistic was 1 in 52.

When I think of how far autism awareness has come in the last few years, it blows my mind. It’s crazy to think about how many more children are being diagnosed with autism these days!! It’s awesome in some ways because it means that more children are getting the services they need to help them thrive. It means that more and more people are becoming aware of autism, and the signs to watch for, in order to help children and others be understood and accepted for their differences.

However, it also means there are still so many children (and adults) out there who are struggling- struggling to be understood, struggling to fit in, struggling to cope with sensory aversions, and struggling to keep up in a world that does not like to slow down for those who need it That means we’re not done. Even as we continue to make progress and the world becomes more aware and accepting of those on the spectrum, there are still so many who don’t understand, don’t know what to look for, or know how to interact with an autistic person.

Autism awareness is so very important. Educating others about the signs of autism helps them to recognize when a child needs help. Sometimes a child may need extra help interpreting social cues and homework questions, or sometimes a child may need therapy for something like speech or behaviors. Sometimes a child may need special tools to help them manage their sensory aversions, or may need special allowances for them to be more focused and comfortable throughout their day-to-day life, such as fidget toys or certain types of clothing. When we spread autism awareness, it teaches those around us that just because a child is different doesn’t mean we should shy away from them. It teaches people to be more aware of why someone may do certain things, and how to better interact with those on the autism spectrum. Autism awareness teaches kindness, and the world can always use more of that.

For those who don’t know, in addition to working full-time in marketing for an agricultural company, I also run my own online boutique. A while back, Sawyer said “Momma, you should make some autism shirts for the store!” Sawyer doesn’t ask for much, so when he asks for things, I listen. When Sawyer asks for things, it’s because those things are important to him, and in his requests for me to create this blog and his new request for me to create autism shirts for my store, it’s obvious that autism awareness is VERY important to him. So when he asked me to make autism shirts for my store, how could I not? I have created a few designs that feature autism-related items, and one of the shirts is the 1 in 36 Tee:

This shirt design will help spread autism awareness because it will get the conversation started about the 1 in 36 statistic. This shirt was inspired by Sawyer and others like him, and since Sawyer’s favorite color is red, we ordered one for him in red (as shown). 🙂 I also snagged myself one of the Be Kind Tees, because I fell in love with the cute rainbow design. I can’t wait to wear mine- I will wear it proudly in honor of my sweet boy! Sawyer will be competing in the Special Olympics soon, and I plan to wear my shirt that day to support him and all the other amazing athletes competing that day.

I am in the process of opening a new store for Chicken Nugs and Mama Nugs merch and my autism-related designs that will be linked here on the site. Once I get the store set up and running, I will be sure to post about it here for anyone who may be interested in ordering some Chicken Nugs merch! All proceeds will be used to keep the blog going (hosting fees aren’t free!), as well as keep Sawyer in chicken nuggets. LOL