Let's Support The Color Of Autism Foundation!
Tax deductible
The Color of Autism: We are a Non-Profit (501 c3) exempt organization committed to educating and assisting African American families with Autistic children. Autism affects children of every race, ethnic group and socioeconomic status. African-American children frequently are confronted with late diagnosis or misdiagnosis. Our goal is to help families identify the warning signs of autism early on.
Hey! My nickname is Idri, I'm from Portugal and I stream on Twitch. I'm doing a charity stream to help The Color of Autism Foundation. I have a younger brother who was diagnosed with autism at the age of 2. Having an early diagnosis really helped my parents finding ways to support him and make sure he was getting the help and education he needed.
My brother can be the sweetest kid at times. His smile brights up the room, and everyone that has the chance to properly meet him and spend time with him, ends up loving him and taking him in their hearts. At the moment he’s obsessed with car brands, he specially likes my stepdad’s old blue Volkswagen which he calls the “blue car”. He also has a crush on this cartoon doctor he found in a Youtube vídeo. Oh, he also loves the word “fart”, easiest way to get him to laugh! Although, his communication skills are limited, he won’t have a regular conversation with you. He also gets really stressed in some situations, and throws tantrums. He’s only 15 (almost 16), but believe me, the kid is strong!
The events of last year, with the death of George Floyd and many others being brought to light made me want to do something to help, but the one that really brought me to the edge of tears was Elijah McCain's.
Elijah (who as far as I'm aware did NOT have autism) died after the police was called on him for "acting weird", he panicked when the police approached him, was placed in a carotic hold which lead him to pass out for a few moments. Paramedics were called, and injected him with ketamine to sedate him… but with a way higher dosage than what was needed for his weight. This caused him to go into cardiac arrest. Elijah passed away a few days later.
This made think, what if my brother was a black man in America? Picture this with me:
- He’s an adult black man in America with autism, for some reason he’s alone in the street. Something causes him to lose control and people call the police on him for “acting weird”. When the police gets to him, they can’t get him to talk to them and explain why he’s acting like that. When they try to arrest him, he resists, because he doesn’t understand that he has to obey those men he never met before. When he resists, they end up killing him. My little brother gets killed purely because he has autism, and because of the color of his skin.
This is why I chose The Color of Autism Foundation, because this families deserve the help. This kids deserve an early diagnosis so they can be helped to cope in the world they live in, they deserve a chance. Because I can’t allow that the very bad scenario that came to my mind that day actually ends happening to someone. I can’t allow someone’s little brother to die because of two simple things that they can’t control, and that they shouldn’t have to.
The charity stream is happening on Friday, April 2nd, 2021, from 10am to 10pm, BST.
Stream: https://www.twitch.tv/idriguesk
The Color of Autism Foundation: https://www.thecolorofautism.org/
More info about Elijah's story: https://www.thecut.com/2021/02/the-killing-of-elijah-mcclain-everything-we-know.html
Hey! My nickname is Idri, I'm from Portugal and I stream on Twitch. I'm doing a charity stream to help The Color of Autism Foundation. I have a younger brother who was diagnosed with autism at the age of 2. Having an early diagnosis really helped my parents finding ways to support him and make sure he was getting the help and education he needed.
My brother can be the sweetest kid at times. His smile brights up the room, and everyone that has the chance to properly meet him and spend time with him, ends up loving him and taking him in their hearts. At the moment he’s obsessed with car brands, he specially likes my stepdad’s old blue Volkswagen which he calls the “blue car”. He also has a crush on this cartoon doctor he found in a Youtube vídeo. Oh, he also loves the word “fart”, easiest way to get him to laugh! Although, his communication skills are limited, he won’t have a regular conversation with you. He also gets really stressed in some situations, and throws tantrums. He’s only 15 (almost 16), but believe me, the kid is strong!
The events of last year, with the death of George Floyd and many others being brought to light made me want to do something to help, but the one that really brought me to the edge of tears was Elijah McCain's.
Elijah (who as far as I'm aware did NOT have autism) died after the police was called on him for "acting weird", he panicked when the police approached him, was placed in a carotic hold which lead him to pass out for a few moments. Paramedics were called, and injected him with ketamine to sedate him… but with a way higher dosage than what was needed for his weight. This caused him to go into cardiac arrest. Elijah passed away a few days later.
This made think, what if my brother was a black man in America? Picture this with me:
- He’s an adult black man in America with autism, for some reason he’s alone in the street. Something causes him to lose control and people call the police on him for “acting weird”. When the police gets to him, they can’t get him to talk to them and explain why he’s acting like that. When they try to arrest him, he resists, because he doesn’t understand that he has to obey those men he never met before. When he resists, they end up killing him. My little brother gets killed purely because he has autism, and because of the color of his skin.
This is why I chose The Color of Autism Foundation, because this families deserve the help. This kids deserve an early diagnosis so they can be helped to cope in the world they live in, they deserve a chance. Because I can’t allow that the very bad scenario that came to my mind that day actually ends happening to someone. I can’t allow someone’s little brother to die because of two simple things that they can’t control, and that they shouldn’t have to.
The charity stream is happening on Friday, April 2nd, 2021, from 10am to 10pm, BST.
Stream: https://www.twitch.tv/idriguesk
The Color of Autism Foundation: https://www.thecolorofautism.org/
More info about Elijah's story: https://www.thecut.com/2021/02/the-killing-of-elijah-mcclain-everything-we-know.html
Organizer
Idri Guesk
Organizer
Birmingham, MI
The Color of Autism
Registered nonprofit
Donations are typically 100% tax deductible in the US.
Inspired to help? Start a fundraiser for someone you know
