Today we’d like to introduce you to Lia McCabe.
Thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
When our firstborn was just 20 months old, she was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder and showed significant motor and communication delays.
Almost a year later, our second child was diagnosed at 19 months old. As parents of autistic children, it quickly became apparent how very few resources are available for those on the spectrum and their families. I was shocked to discover just how much of a financial struggle it was to keep up with all the appointments and specialized equipment/therapeutic items our child needed.
Although there were some available resources and financial support options, I could not find a program that helped families provide their autistic children with the simple yet effective toys and sensory items they needed. I decided to create AutismWish as a way to bridge the need between families of autistic children and the therapeutic/sensory items they need.
Shortly thereafter, I launched the Embracing Autism Podcast to provide parents and caregivers with tips and advice while sharing our personal stories. While recording episodes, my husband (Matt) and I realized it would be beneficial to have candid conversations with autistic adults and those in the autism community. Thus was born the Embracing Autism IRL video companion series.
Through this series, and the many discussions that ensued, I began my journey of self-discovery and realized the commonalities I shared with the community. A few months later, I received my official autism diagnosis. This sparked a renewed passion in not only advocating for autistic children, but for the autistic community as a whole.
Can you talk to us about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back, would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Learning your children have a disability is never easy, and initially it came as a shock to myself and my husband. We were not familiar with Autism at the time –I had not yet received my own diagnosis– and were unsure of what this diagnosis meant for our children and our family. Our biggest concern was making sure that we could find a way to meet our kids’ needs and help them feel loved, appreciated, and accepted in a world that often ostracizes or neglects the disabled community. We decided very early on that a label, though important for insurance and medical purposes, was not going to change how we felt about our girls.
Although the road has been tough– particularly for our eldest who struggled to crawl, walk, talk, or even feed herself–we know our little family has come a long way and our girls continue to make great strides with therapy. Honestly, the most challenging part has been managing two full time jobs while also bringing our children to school and 7 to 8 therapies a week each, but it’s a balance we are very happy to strike in order to help them continue to grow and develop into healthy and independent individuals.
We also feel blessed because if it were not for these diagnoses, I would have never discovered my own and our charity initiative, AutismWish, would likely not have ever existed. We do what we do – granting wishes to autistic children and providing parent resources like the Embracing Autism Podcast – because we intimately understand the very real challenges autistic individuals and their families face on a day-to-day basis. We want to help, and are passionate about creating a compassionate and accepting world for our children and their autistic peers.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I like to say I’m a researcher by day and an advocate by night. My husband, Matt, and I both have full-time unrelated careers during regular working hours, then between the therapies and 1-on-1 time with our kids, we manage to run our family charity initiative, AutismWish and the Embracing Autism Podcast. People think we are nuts for taking so much on at the same time, but we are so passionate about what we do and feel such a strong calling to serve the autism community that it feels truly worth the work.
I think what sets us apart from other organizations is that AutismWish is a very small, authentic organization making a very big splash. We are 100% family, volunteer, and neurodivergent run. Matt and I both understand, first hand, what it’s like growing up and living in a world with a learning or developmental disability and that experience feeds into everything we do at AutismWish. Our backgrounds help us bring a sense of compassion and intimate understanding that many other organizations simply lack. Our mom-and-pop nature also creates a more candid experience with the community we serve, and this is something we are very proud of.
Is there a quality that you most attribute to your success?
I attribute our success to our authenticity and compassionate take on autism and the disability community. Our success has been 100% word-of-mouth as we have not spent a penny on marketing. I feel this is only possible because the community we serve can connect with us more deeply than with larger organizations. Matt and I share very intimate family details on the Embracing Autism Podcast, including all the ups and downs, but we also are very careful to make sure that parents feel heard, understood, and accepted while also advocating for the same on behalf of autistic children everywhere.
Our mission at AutismWish is about supporting the autism community as a whole, both those impacted by autism directly and their family/support system as well. We believe that compassion goes both ways and that these kiddos need to be understood, loved, and accepted for who they are while also understanding that raising an autistic child can be very challenging for caregivers and parents. Striking this balance is a delicate procedure, but we believe it’s a really important part of who we are and why we have been successful.
Contact Info:
- Website: autismwish.org/give and www.autismwish.org
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/autismwish
- Facebook: facebook.com/autismwish
- Twitter: twitter.com/autismwish
- Youtube: youtube.com/@autismwish
- Other: patreon.com/autismwish
