Looking for some input
This is the message I received from the CBC reporter:
"My name is Clare MacKenzie and I am a journalist on the digital team with CBC PEI. I was forwarded your email to CBC by my digital producer this morning and I am excited for the opportunity to write a story about your peer-support group.
As a journalist, I recognize the importance and newsworthiness of this story. And as the mother of an adult son with autism and the stepmother of a young woman with autism, I can also personally appreciate the need for your group - and the importance of spreading the word about it to other adult Islanders with autism.
I am going to take time today to read all of the information on your website and take some notes, and will be back in touch later today or tomorrow morning with some questions I will email to you.
In the meantime, if there is any other information you think would be helpful in best telling your story, please send it along directly to me."
I want this to be 'our' story and not my story and I think my perspective is fairly well captured on the website already but I did respond to her to mention that although most people think autism only affects children our website group has members in their 20's, 30's, 40's, 50's and one in her 60's.
I really hope others will consider contributing "any other information you think would be helpful in best telling your story," whether you're a student, a parent, a working person, a non-working person anything but a retired 68 yo. You could share your perspective of what the group means to you or what you hope it will become or why its important; or adult autism in general, adult autism on PEI, what its like being autistic on PEI as a student, as a parent, etc. You can use your name or not.
A few sentences, a paragraph, whatever you can throw together in the next couple days or so would be great. Please consider participating so we can make this an interesting article.
That's more than okay. UPEI (where we're currently meeting) promotes mask wearing in public spaces so all or most of us wear masks. You'll fit right in. And even if we meet somewhere else I always wear a mask as does one of the other members so you won't be the only one.