What a difference a week makes. Last Friday I was excited that I would be taking my children to see their first West End show and thanking the gods of calamine lotion that L’s chicken pox had cleared up just in time for us to go. Fast forward a week and I’m now looking back at the past few days with amazement. So much has happened in such a short space of time that I think I need to reflect and take stock.

Over 6000 people have now read my post describing our trip to the autism-friendly performance of Lion King. I know some blogs have tens of thousands of hits a week, but for me 6000 in three days is A LOT. I have received literally hundreds of emails and messages from other people who have children or family members with autism, thanking me for my post and for raising awareness of the challenges we face. I have lost count of the number of people who told me my post made them cry. My post was re-blogged, tweeted and linked to more times than I know, including by Theatre Monkey who called it: “The Most Moving Theatre Blog Ever”. I have been asked by Disney’s PR company if they can use my post to promote next year’s performance, and they have circulated it amongst their journalist contacts. I have been thanked by various members of the Lion King crew for being so complimentary about their involvement (They’re thanking me! How ridiculous!) I’ve had phone calls with one of the stars of the show who is now my Facebook friend (I couldn’t be more excited or star-struck if it was George Clooney). I was invited to talk about our experience at the show on a national radio programme, which I did this morning. I have been contacted by the director of another London theatre as well as someone from a small local drama group, both of whom are planning to look into organising similar performances after reading my blog. And possibly most overwhelming of all has been the outpouring of love and encouragement from the hordes of friends and family who have been texting me and sending Facebook messages over the last few days. So please excuse the twee and slightly tenuous Lion King reference but … can I feel the love tonight? Hell yes!

It’s certainly been a whirlwind of a week, but I find myself asking – what now? How can I harness this incredible love and support and carry it forward, so that I can continue trying to make the world a better, more accepting and understanding place for J and children like him? I can’t help thinking back to our difficult experience in a large toy store and the negative and dismissive response I had from one reader, and wondering – is it enough? It is unrealistic in the extreme to think I can single-handedly wipe out all traces of prejudice and discrimination from our society. But I can’t help feeling I must be able to do more. This isn’t quite as selfless and altruistic as it sounds … and if I’m being completely honest I think one of my motivations here is fear. Fear of how the world will treat my precious J as he starts to grow up and find his way.

And so I find myself in uncharted territory … I am being pushy. I am doing everything I can think of to get more media exposure, so that I can reach the widest audience possible. Obviously if my write-up of last Sunday’s performance leads to more of the same then that will be great. More than great, it would be bloody fantastic. But I need more than that. I need people from outside of the autism community to understand WHY these performances are needed, and WHY children and adults with autism need to engage in behaviour that might be perceived by others as unusual or disruptive or naughty. And then to take that a step further, I want people to understand what they can do to help. I want them to know that it really doesn’t take much. Giving our children a little time to think and formulate a response after asking them a question. Giving parents a smile instead of a disapproving stare. Asking the parent with a tantruming child if they need help, rather than muttering about them behind their back. Recognising the unique way that so many autistic children see the world, and considering what we can learn from them. Looking for ways around their challenges and limitations, rather than writing them off.

So I will continue to push for more media coverage … but assuming I don’t become an international writing sensation on the back of this, I need a Plan B. And luckily I have one. I’m planning to utilise all this love that’s been flooding in all week. Because ultimately, the more people who read this blog and other accounts like it, the more we really will start to change the world one person at a time. Up until now I’ve only really ever written this blog for myself – as a cathartic way of dealing with some very difficult times in my life. But now that changes. For the first time I’m asking those of you reading this to share it with your friends, and your friends’ friends’ friends … because maybe my Lion King reference isn’t so twee or tenuous after all. I AM feeling the love, and I can’t help thinking it’s that very love that’s going change the world.