Amber's Hurricane Harvey Assistance

Hurricane Harvey has devastated many in the Houston area. It will take many years to rebuild and many lives will never be the same again. We watch with sadness and feel drawn to assist if we can. Today, I feel drawn to help a friend who has been impacted by this hurricane and ask those of you reading to join me.

I am posting this campaign on behalf of Amber Lynne Black whose life has been financially impacted by Hurricane Harvey. She is in Houston, TX and has been directly impacted by Hurricane Harvey. She wonders today how she will support herself in the coming weeks and months. You see, Amber is autistic and the sole support for herself and has been on her own all her adult life. She struggled through many hardships to make a stable life for herself.

Why am I doing this? I am a mother of an autistic child myself. Although I live in CA, Amber and I met a year ago and recognized the common thread that binds us. We began communicating regularly and she has helped me understand my own daughter with severe autism. Amber Black has inspired me with how she has learned to understand and manage her challenges as an adult with autism. She states, “It took an extended period of mental, physical, and emotional hardship and struggle to understand, to accept, and to embrace the uniqueness that makes me who I am.” It requires her daily time, energy, and focus to maintain all that she has become. She has learned to manage by integrating physical fitness, nutrition, traditional medical and non-traditional therapies, energy therapies, and spirituality into her daily disciplined life. The funds generated will help Amber with the many medical, mental health, and health expenses related to treating her autism. Much of these costs are not covered by insurance and she has had to bear the costs herself.

Some might consider Amber has having "high functioning autism" but what many don't realize is there are a host of other biomedical issues that come with autism. There is a spiritual consciousness to autism as well, and in this regard, she is very similar to my own daughter who is considered to have severe autism. So, even though I have not known Amber long, I could sense at the heart level, the pure love and radiance she exudes. Just by connecting with her, I began to have deeper insights into my own daughter.

Amber is neurolologically wired differently than us "neurotypicals" and also more sensitive to environmental toxins and even the emotions of others. They may also have certain genes turned off and others on all the time which impacts the production of certain proteins and enzymes in the body. This can wreak havoc to an oversensitive body.

Without going into too much detail, Amber experienced many medical issues as a young adult; infections, over-reactions to certain medications, and required several surgeries to correct some of the misdiagnosed treatments she received. She was homeless for a period and relied on the kindness of strangers she might come across. It took a great deal of courage for her to come to understand the biomedical issues that can acompany autism and to find diet, exercise, supplements, medical and non-medical treatments to get to where she is today and to maintain a level of stability. Yes, she is stable currently living with friends but she is challenged on a daily basis to maintain a level of physical stability. And with Houston currently in a state of emergency, Amber has the additional worry that she could regress in some areas of her functioning.

I offered to do this for Amber because as a mother of an autistic child, I would hope that others would offer similar help for my daughter if she were in similar shoes.

In spite of and because of her challenges, Amber was inspired to found, Autisticfit Society, a nonprofit organization, established to assist persons diagnosed with autism to achieve his or her full potential through holistic regimens of individualized fitness, nutritional, and lifestyle adjustments. Just prior to the Hurricane Harvey impact, Amber was in the process of expanding Autisticfit Society’s reach and scope.

 “As I move into the next stage of my life experience, it is my mission through inspiring and educating from all I have learned to live with autism, manage it and be resilient to the best of my ability. It is through healthy living and connecting mind, body and spirit where fitness is the platform to positively empower others.  Autisticfit Society is developed to provide a compassionate, informative, comfortable, and safe environment to initiate positive change in the lives of those individuals touched by Autism.” –Amber Black

Please help Amber live her life’s purpose and help others. She worked hard for many years to be where she is today physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. Because of the hurricane, Amber’s employment is currently suspended and she does not know if or when she will be able to return to work. She has had to rely on the care and generosity of communities through her adult life. Let us surround her as a community today.

If you love the story of the underdog overcoming obstacles, then support Amber Black. The funds generated will go towards continued treatment of her autism symptoms - traditional and non-traditional medical treatments, treatment for mental and emotional health, medications and supplements. She will inspire you and give you hope for a brighter future for us all.

We truly appreciate all the support!