This Friday, Liliam Mendieta Sosa did not stay at home. Neither did she during the weekend. Why that? She is the mother of a child diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).

In the midst of her daily maelstrom and activities around April 2nd, World Autism Awareness Day, she did her best to answer questions from this girl who wants to share a story in blue.

Liliam’s voice stands out among the sounds that slip through what happens today at the Casino Campestre of Camagüey. She tells me, via WhatsApp, that she is there because it is a date to socialize, and that in this way people gain knowledge about the Disorder. “This diagnosis requires love and attention”, she says.

“The street parades, for example, are very important for society to respect neurodiversity,” she adds. And then she reviewed the photos from March 31st and there she is dressed in blue, the color that represents those who live with ASD and their families.

“It is similar to the sea: when it is clear blue, it is calm and tender, and that is how our children are sometimes; and in just a second the sea can turn into a Prussian blue color, and that is also the case with their way of behaving. It is difficult” Liliam explains.

She finished listening to the audio without transcribing her words. Liliam tells me about her two twin children, about how they go to theaters, restaurants, cinemas from a young age… “It’s a challenge, it’s my challenge. I’ve managed to make them fit into society and feel good and at ease.”

In this achievement, she has a lot to do with the Héroes del Moncada special school, a place that she describes as a refuge. “There they protect him, educate him and help us. It’s a big family.”

It is the family that is in April and every day; like Liliam – who lives in blue, the color she always preferred.

Translated by: Aileen Álvarez García