Brother, can you spare 30 seconds?
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So the blue hair thing is already paying dividends.
Friends, neighbors, acquaintances, strangers; children, adults – all of them are asking, “what’s up with the blue hair?”
I thought this would be easy – you ask me about autism and I can go on for a good 30 minutes, ranging on topics from awareness to therapies to educational methods. The problem of course is not everyone is as enthusiastic as I am; not everyone is as entrenched as I am; not everyone wants to listen for too long as I get on to my traveling soapbox.
So I’ve had to refine my pitch. I’ve tried to get my soapbox speech down to about 30 seconds or less at this point, but it’s kind of like suddenly being told you need to sprint a 5K after spending a summer training for a marathon.
Hopefully I’ll have it down pat by the time the New York Marathon rolls around.
Meanwhile, I hit the key points –
- Autism Awareness
- Fund Raising
- Research
- Beacon of awareness
- Running New York with blue hair for Autism Speaks
So far I haven’t had one negative comment (except maybe one who said she just couldn’t take someone with blue hair seriously…whatever). Over the weekend I think I probably spoke to over 30 people individually about the hair and why I did it. Today I’ve already spoken with almost 10. That’s 40 more people who might stop and think before judging one of our kids, siblings or parents the next time they fall apart at the grocery store. Hopefully those 40 will tell their friends about the crazy, marathon running dad with the blue hair and they’ll remember to mention why that crazy dad is doing it.
Spreading Autism Awareness, changing the world, one strange look at a time.
And for those who think maybe Awareness is a tired, worn out theme, I ask you to read —>THIS<— and then tell me if that is really the case.
On behalf of Aidan and all the children on the spectrum I currently treat, my heart felt thank-you. Oh and I did a little autism awareness/advocacy at the conference I am attending right now. Seems the presenter from the esteemed Boston University School of Medicine, didn’t know to use 1st person language and chose to refer to persons with ASD as autistic. I spoke to him at break about his choice of words and he heard me. I thank your wife for showing me to always lead with compassion and share with grace.
As long as there are girls like those in the market then awareness will never be a tired worn out subject.I pray for the day when every person is so aware that we don’t need to fight for it anymore.I love the blue hair. I am going to be encouraging all my friends and family next April to go blue for Autism awareness (even if its just a wig for those of us not so brave!).
Thanks for wearing the blue from a fellow parent!
I think it’s gone from blue to purple? Barney raising awareness for Autism…I love it. You rock dude.
Excellent! You wear it well.
Thank you for doing this! Next time I get a judgmental look I may just have to say “haven’t you talked to the guy with blue hair?” when usually I say “Welcome to autism”. That is great that you are reaching so many people!
BLUE, you’re my boy! Got to tell 3 fb friends about your hair after they saw my posts to you. Just call me Kevin Bacon 😉
I think I saw you today at the Chilly 1/2 marathon..to tell you the truth I noticed your Autism Speaks logo before I noticed your hair…..what a great expression for autism!