Between Spectrums

Out of the Comfort Zone

Have you ever been the kind of person that likes to stay in your comfort zone? Jennifer Lovy was that kind of person till her son Evan, who has autism, inspired her to come out. 

When Evan was diagnosed, she became his advocate to people that either works with him or knows him. When she gets in front of people she would panic. But when she thinks about Evan and what he goes through when placed in uncomfortable situations. Though he has fears he challenges himself to face them, which inspires his mother. One of his fears is fire. At the time he would only watch YouTube videos of fire so he can feel safe. But later on he would slowly overcome his fear. From having only candles to enjoying camping with a camp fire, He's not entirely comfortable around fire but he steps out of his comfort zone to try new things. His example inspires Jennifer to speak in front of school boards and to write down her experiences as an advocate.

Coming out the comfort zone is not that easy. I had to come out of mine to serve a two year mission to Kentucky, to work with troubled youth and young adults in the woods of southern Utah, to go to college to receive a degree in creating writing, even to start a blog to help inspire those with and without autism. Readers, your loved ones with autism are walking examples of getting out of the comfort zone. True it's hard for them to do things out of routine, but they are doing the best that they can. And if they are coming out of theirs you should come out of yours and show that autism is not what the textbooks say. It may not be easy but as you get used to doing things you wouldn't normally do, you and your loved autism can accomplish many things when you're out of the comfort zone.

Thank you for your time

Tay Gallagher

For more info but Jennifer and what she's doing for Evan. Go to http://m.huffpost.com/us/entry/8238572