Page 5 - The Unstoppable Power Stories of Women in Our Mundo

JASEL AXELSON

Executive Assistant

My son, Parker, was 18 months old when he was diagnosed
with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). I recall walking out of
the neurologist’s office with my husband and child in a daze.
After allowing myself the time to fully process what my life as a

mother would be like for a child with special needs, I looked at
the smiling face of my beautiful boy and realized nothing really
needed to change -- except for me. My child was the same
joyful baby who rolled in my belly and gifted me little kicks
when I snacked on my favorite ice cream. At that moment, I
knew that I needed to rise to my child’s expectations and not
the other way around. That’s when I got to WORK. I learned
that we live in a world of neurodiversity -- the range of
difference in individual brain function and behavioral traits,

regarded as part of normal variation in the human population
and that my son was neurodivergent.

To put it plainly, autism is a neurological variant, and while his ASD does mean he has special needs, it does not
mean that he is “broken” or “incomplete.” As children we are taught to celebrate differences; different cultures,
languages, shades, sizes and everything in between -- why would that not include different ways of thinking
and processing? Different is BEAUTIFUL. Today, I am the PROUD mother of a neurodivergent child. There is
nothing I would not do for him. I am his fiercest advocate and of others like him. My deep love for him and all the
differences that make him exceptional, make me UNSTOPPABLE.