Our friend, Deklan, and his mom, Danielle O’Brien, wore blue on National Autism Awareness Day to show others that at the time of diagnosis, no one is alone. Danielle has been part of our #CooperTeam for 13 years and shared Deklan’s story with us:
“My son Deklan was diagnosed at the age of 2 with autism, and since that time I have found a new purpose in life. Our family partakes in the Autism Speaks and Gloucester County Special Services Education Fund Autism Walk each year. Our daughter will hold lemonade stands and will donate part of her proceeds to the walks as well. We are teaching her that although Deklan thinks and processes differently, we need to support him and the research efforts to help everyone on the spectrum. My husband and I have partnered with friends of ours, whose son is diagnosed autistic as well, and for three years have been holding a fundraiser to raise autism awareness. The proceeds from this event are donated to autism research and programs. Last year we were able to donate $10,000.
“I am very verbal about Deklan because by talking about him and his diagnosis, this opens up awareness and understanding. We don’t want Deklan to be viewed as different, because in the end, he is just a 6 year-old boy who may learn and process differently, but just wants to be accepted. Also, by being verbal, people have reached out to me to talk about their child on the spectrum. I like to be a source of information because in the four years since Deklan’s diagnosis, I have learned a lot regarding autism, fought to obtain services that are not a covered benefit, and about the school programs.”
Danielle O’Brien with Deklan on World Autism Day, April 2, 2019.