Meridian parents ensure environment safety for autistic son

4-year-old Liam Porter was diagnosed with autism October 2019. Since then, his mother, Ashlee Porter has been a stay-at-home mom to support her son.

“I was working and then I decided to be a stay-at-home mom and put all my effort and energy towards him and support him in growing and developing," says Porter.

According to his mother, Liam enjoys exploring the outdoors. His hobbies include chasing butterflies and lots of running. Noticing this amount of energy he possessed, his parents decided to take another step for his safety.

“He’s a runner and after a few incidents, we decided it was time to take a bigger measure and so that’s when we decided to reach out and look at road signs.”

“Caution Autistic Child in Area” reads two road signs placed by the Porter home to promote awareness in the community. Porter says she has been working with the Lauderdale County Road Department for a few weeks to get the signs ordered.

“We started with public works and they put up a “slow children at play” sign because they weren’t familiar with the autism sign and so they put that up in the meantime until I could contact the Lauderdale County Department Team.”

For the past three days, Liam has been able to play in a safer environment. Porter gives this advice to parents who have children with autism.

“You are your child’s biggest advocate and nothing is going to change unless you’re willing to take those actions and be persistent in your actions. Parents can make a change if they’re willing.”