A Buffalo Mom Helps Others Fighting Autism

Chuki Naylor remembers the day she heard the diagnosis of autism for her then two-year-old son Dante and said it was like having the life knocked out of her.

“You have dreams and goals and aspirations attached to your perfect Gerber baby and in that moment she said he has special needs, all of those dreams felt like they died.”

In a story aired on NEWS 4 BUFFALO she was determined to find ways for him to develop important skills, as any Mom she wanted to make sure his life was filled with faith and love.

“We were going to figure out how to not have autism be a marquee feature in our lives. Certainly, it would be a part of our lives, but when you saw my son, and you speak to my son, it would not be a situation where every time you saw him you would say he was autistic.”

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Chuki began documenting her struggles and triumphs on Facebook, creating the #Kingof Ausome, hoping to help others facing similar struggles.

“He would do something, or something would happen, a major life event positive or negative and I would write a social media story as a way to decompress.”

She received so much support from those social media postings that she decided to write a book “Unexpectedly Ausome: Parenting a child on the spectrum with Love and Faith.”

“The first thing I would say is give yourself a break, it’s not your fault. Autism is a beautiful exception to the ordinary because it’s the only thing in my opinion, that truly makes a person unique.”

The book features tips on how to get services for children with special needs and how to cope with behaviors and celebrate the little victories. She hopes that in sharing her journey, she can help other parents, avoid the stress and frustration and find joy in raising a child that is unique in all the best ways.

“We all want to be set apart and different, but as a parent, we really get the honor and privilege to raise someone who is truly different. And if you can’t find a way to celebrate that you’re going to miss a lot.”