My name is Tanisha and I am the mother of Jayden, who is an amazing nine year old that has Autism Spectrum Disorder. After working as a Human Resources Professional for over 10 years in the corporate world, the struggle to find balance to care for my young son with ASD and maintain a minimum 60 hours a week work schedule simply became too much. With the hopes of finding more resources to care for my son and a career path that would allow me to have a better work-life balance, I relocated from Atlanta Metro back to my home state of California. I accepted a promising position as the Human Resource Manager of the Boys & Girls Clubs Huntington Valley in Orange County. And for the first time in my professional career, I was in a professional role that truly felt meaningful to my life, being a part of a team that provided children and parents with services that were needed and valued.
Working within such an environment provided a new perspective of how I could actively participate in spreading autism awareness and fueled the grass roots fire within me to give back to the community that my child and I are a part of. That community includes individuals with a special need, children with Autism, and parents of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder and other a special needs. I volunteered as a HR Manager for the Employment Development Department of California to provide job coaching to individuals with disabilities. I became a Special Needs Parent Mentor at my son’s school, which later evolved into a school district position in which I provided assistance to parents who struggled with locating appropriate services, navigating through special education programs, understanding the IEP process, applying, and at times simply just providing a listening ear to parents who just needed someone to talk to that “got it”. I participated in employment law workshops for parents who weren’t aware of their employee rights that are provided by the federal and state government.
Our Journey through Autism social media outlets such as Facebook and Instagram where initially created as a therapeutic outlet for myself. I just wanted to meet other parents and share our story. Social media allowed me to connect with so many individuals within the community, as well as the privilege to provide assistance, guidance, and support to parents across the nation. On my quest to gather knowledge and tools to assist my son and others as they travel their journey through autism, I have acquired my Registered Behavioral Therapist( RBT) certification from the Behavior Analyst Certification Board (BCBA) and Autism Certified Certification (AC) from International Board of Credentialing and Continuing Education Standards (IBCCES).
Upon relocating back to Atlanta Metro, I accepted a role as a Human Resources Manager at ABA Therapy center. And once again I was in a professional position that provided a new perspective and allowed me to contribute to the Autism community. I actively recruited, hired, and trained Registered Behavioral Therapists (RBT), Board Certified Assistant Behavior Analysts (BCaBA), and Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBA). Within this role, I was also privileged to attend clinical workshops, seminars, and trainings.
As I have traveled along our journey with my son, what I have learned is no one knows the tears and the fears of an Autism parent except for another parent. No one knows the joy of watching your child reach a milestone that you were told by all the medical professionals they wouldn’t achieve, like another autism parent does. And no one can truly understand the hardships and struggles you encounter traveling the journey, like another parent can. I want to walk along side other parents on their journey so that they know they are not alone.