“My son is my ‘why.’ Aidan is the driving force behind all that I do. He’s the reason I decided to change careers and switch to autism disability advocacy. When you want change, the change begins with you. I’m committed to ensuring that families are informed and aware of all the things that are happening in the autism community. It’s important for providers and anyone who works in the field, to know that parents need to be equal partners because we have a lot to offer.”🏩Washingtonian Yetta Myrick is the community outreach coordinator for the Center for Autism Spectrum Disorders (CASD). Prior to working at Children’s, Yetta had an 11 year career at C-SPAN, worked as a national ambassador for the CDC’s ‘learn the early signs act,’ and served as a stakeholder advisory board chair for the Patient Center Outcome Research Institute. 🏩Yetta became familiar with CASD after her son was diagnosed with autism by Dr. Laura Anthony in 2007. Two years after diagnosis, she was invited to serve on the Parent Advisory Committee for CASD at Children’s National and even started her own nonprofit, DC Autism Parents. “You need someone like me to come in and say ‘ok, you can give me the science behind it, but here’s what it’s like to live my life with my son. My son isn’t the issue; it’s the world around him, in terms of navigating. If you don’t have certain tools, it’s more difficult. Parents are the constant.” 🏩Yetta is dedicated to helping families get access to early intervention services and engaging parents across the District and country, reminding everyone that “when you know one child with autism, you only know one child with autism. It’s complex, and every child is different.” Thank you, Yetta, for your service and advocacy work this #AutismAcceptanceMonth, and every month. 🏩#GROWUPSTRONGER #PeopleofChildrens #autism #autismawareness #autismacceptancemonth #childrenshealth #pediatrics