My name is LaShawn Toney. I am a mother of 5 amazing children. I married the love of my life Gary Toney 23 years ago on March 20,1999. We were together 3 years before we decided to tie the knot. My husband and I always wanted a big family but after having Jorgia, at birth getting the news she was diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis devastated our family in ways you can’t begin to imagine. Then 2 years later we were blindsided with her diagnosis of autism. Our family has definitely experienced things you wouldn’t believe. My goal for telling our story is hoping to help other parents that may be struggling to understand autism and to also let them know they are not alone. It is very important that we continue to fight for our children that need us to be their voice. I’m hoping after reading this book you will begin to understand my journey and know that with hard work and arming yourself with the right information you will begin to understand the real gifts that lie within autism. My daughter is my everything and I will advocate for her as long as I am breathing until our voices are heard loud and clear. When you are given a gift you have to unwrap the gift to see and understand what it is. When you begin to unwrap autism and see and understand what it is you will learn to love and cherish the gift you were given.

Thank You,
LaShawn M. Toney