Today we’d like to introduce you to Darlene Giol.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Darlene. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I started writing about our family’s journey about five years ago. Blogging became an outlet for me. Our daughter was diagnosed with autism eight years ago. She was verbal, but couldn’t carry on a conversation and struggled with many social, emotional, and behavioral challenges. The difficulties we faced as a family caused me to experience a lot of anxiety. For years, I searched for ways to find peace along the way. Writing helped, but it led me to so many other tools and resources that not only helped my daughter but helped me cope with then extreme worry and anxiety I faced on a daily basis. I became an advocate for her and for our autism community. I’m constantly educating myself on autism and I learn something new every day. I’ve learned how to be her primary therapist, teacher, and most importantly, her biggest cheerleader. My goal is for the blog to help as many autism families as possible, but also help to educate the world so that acceptance and inclusion is the norm and not the exception.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Autism has not been easy for our family. It has had an effect on all of us, including her younger brother. But we’ve all grown from it and I think it has made us better parents and better people.
I knew nothing about blogging. I only knew I loved to write and that it was therapeutic for me. I taught myself a few things, but over the years, I had help navigating the blogging world. I still have a very long way to go. The biggest struggle is getting a big enough following so that I can grow my readership since the goal is to reach and help as many people as possible. Eventually, I would like for the blog to be the basis of a book. But for now, I’m still trying to grow the blog and provide as much content as I can.
Please tell us more about your work, what you are currently focused on and most proud of.
I’m known for sharing a lot about autism, But I also write a lot about anxiety, both my daughter’s and my own, and the ways I’ve found peace. I share a lot about how my faith has been the biggest way I’ve found peace and how it’s the basis for how we handle all things Autism. I’m really proud of how transparent and open the blog is. I also love how positive it is, without pretending that we have an easy, perfect life. It shows a life perfect in its imperfection. I do my own photography and I’m a one-woman show. I hope that even when the blog grows, it can be just my family and me keeping it afloat.
Is there a specific memory from when you were younger that you really miss?
My favorite memory from childhood is all the road trips my parents took us on. I try to replicate them with our children. They took us to so many national parks all across the country, from Yellowstone to the Blue Ridge Parkway. We also camped in our pop-up camper all along the way and that was so much fun! As a family, we got to spend so much time in nature hiking, biking, and doing all sorts of outdoor activities. They made traveling on the road and in the U.S. so exciting. There was and still is, so much to see along the road. We made some amazing memories I will always treasure. I’m so thankful I get to do the same kind of fun road trips with my kids! Our favorite place to travel is North Carolina during the fall and winter. It’s the only time these long-time Floridians get to wear our hats, scarves, and boots!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.thepeacetomypuzzle.com
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: @thepeacetomypuzzle
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/ThePeaceToMyPuzzle
Image Credit:
Darlene Giol
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