What Autism Awareness Means to Me
April 20, 2011
It’s been awhile since I’ve written on our blog. We’ve been so busy with so many great media opportunities, that my priorities have been focused on them. However, I suddenly felt compelled to put my thoughts on paper.
In the PR world, every client is different. Every account is different. Every plan is different. However, at some point you wake up and realize that you love every client, every account and every plan so much that their dreams become yours and you’d do anything to make them successful.
There’s no time limit on when this realization hits you, sometimes its immediately, sometimes it takes awhile. Client relationships, much like relationships in the real world, take time. Respect is earned through quality work.
When I first walked into the Training, Education & Research Institute (TERI, Inc.), it was immediate. I loved every single thing about it and I had been there 10 minutes. What I learned that day was that TERI focused on life quality for individuals with autism and other developmental disabilities across the lifespan. No why’s or how’s, but now’s. How do we learn now, how do we have fun now, how do we give back now, how do we live now? There are many wonderful things that TERI does for individuals with autism and other developmental disabilities, but there are two women that deserve to be highlighted, CEO and Founder Cheryl Kilmer and Director of Research & Education Krysti DeZonia. Smart, savvy and fun – it felt like two people I’d want to spend time with outside of work.
As time went on, we began interacting with TERI’s clients – individuals with autism, and other developmental disabilities, some severe and profound. One day I walked into TERI’s fitness room and a Mardi Gras celebration was going on, one of the clients grabbed my hand and we skipped around the room, laughing.
On another afternoon, we took a trip with two of TERI’s staff members and two clients to the Feeding America warehouse in San Diego. Feeding America was part of the ‘Biggest Loser’s – Pound for Pound Challenge’. For every pound lost, a pound of food was donated to the San Diego chapter of Feeding America. TERI’s team, comprised of clients, friends and staff, was 11th in the nation! Inspiring when you learn that the special needs population is typically one of the most unhealthy.
In January, I went to a baseball game between TERI clients and the UCSD men’s baseball team. I could write a whole other blog post about how wonderful the entire team was with the TERI clients, or how coach Dan O’Brien should be on everyone’s top list of coaches they’d want for their kids, but that is for a later time.
When I arrived at the game, I wasn’t sure what to expect. However, after the first pitch was thrown out, I knew that what I felt when I first walked into the TERI offices was right. This organization is special. Sure the baseball game looked different, but it felt the same – people eating hot dogs, people laughing, people having fun, families together and the sun shining down.
I’m telling you these stories because they mean something to me, beyond a normal client relationship. I’m telling you these stories because before I started with TERI I had no idea, I was unaware. I’m telling you these stories because April is Autism Awareness month.
On April 30, TERI will host its 4th Annual Cuvee delle Vite event to usher in the final building phase of its new 20-acre campus, the Charles R. Cono Campus for Life Quality, a university-like campus that will house all of TERI’s programs and initiatives. Yes, in the face of state budget cuts, TERI is growing.
So I ask, if you can, if you want to learn more, if you want to really see what life quality is all about, please visit: www.teriinc.org.
