702. Autism Advocate Learns by Doing the Research

Ula Tinsley

“I always say that family and love should come first, and no matter what, set your priorities straight because it’s not all about the money. We have to decide our priorities as soon as possible to avoid any regrets later on in life.”

Ula Tinsley is a passionate autism advocate, featured writer at www.icare4autism.org and a talk show host on Autism Mama Bear Talk. She’s been raising autism awareness on a local and national level since 2010, when her son was diagnosed with a regressive form of autism. After gaining more experience and knowledge about different ways of treating ASD, she’s been supporting and consulting other families living with autism. Her latest project, Autism Mama Bear Talk, is a fast-paced interview show bringing informative and everyday inspiring stories from leading autism advocates, self-advocates, parents and medical experts.

How Did You Start Using Your Talents?

“The first real work that I had was during my university years and that was thanks to my brother who is a lawyer. He was working at the Polish Parliament as a journalist and he said, ‘I have too much work. Would you like to help me? You just go there and record everything and then come home and write it in a proper Polish language so they sound very smart and eloquent.’ Hey, I can do that! And so I went.”

The Most Impactful Turning Point?

Ula’s first child was perfectly normal until just before his 2nd birthday when he went from a smiling and thriving child who loved to be picked up to not wanting any contact, not even eye contact, not responding to his name and no longer speaking. Because of her studies at university, she recognized these as possible characteristics of autism.

The Most Powerful Lessons Learned?

There were no autism awareness groups when her son was young because it was not so prevalent as it is now. She had to do her own research and recognize that the doctors didn’t know much either. One even told her that because they were raising their son in a bilingual home, her son was getting “confused,” and they should speak only one language.

Steps to Success from Ula Tinsley

1. Do not commit to anything just to win the approval of others. Do it because you believe in it and desire to be a part of it.

2. Focus on your strong points. Make a list of your absolute strongest skills. Make a list of all the things that you love doing. And a third list of your goals. Then see how you can cross match all those skills, desires and goals together.

3. Don’t just trust your doctors blindly. Educate yourself.