You're listening to Voices of Your Village. And today, I got to hang out with Maria Davis-Pierre to chat about Black families who are navigating autism diagnoses and what that Black side of autism looks like, both within the Black community and outside of the Black community. Maria graduated from Florida State University with a Bachelor's of Science in Sociology and went on to obtain a Master's of Science in Mental Health Counseling from Nova Southeastern University. As a licensed mental health therapist, Maria primarily works with Black parents to provide support through education and advocacy training. Her passion for working in the field stems from her personal journey when her daughter received the diagnosis at a very early age. In addition to therapy, Maria dons many other titles, including coach, speaker, advocate, and author. Her first published work, a Self Care Affirmation Journal, is currently available for purchase on Amazon. Maria's unique approach to coaching and counseling exemplifies her drive and motivation toward greater acceptance and overcoming the barriers and personal struggles associated with raising a Black autistic child. I could have hung out with Maria for a long time. I love her. We got to chat about things that we need to be mindful of within our systems to support Black children across the board and especially our Black autistic children.  I'm so grateful for her dedication to this work. At the end of the episode, Rach and I chat about the ways we are working to advocate in our own lives and work, and we also have a rich conversation around the misunderstandings around what "sensory means". We also chat about Rachel's moose permit! If you listen and have more moose hunting questions like I did years ago with Cody, holler at us. Let us know your moose questions and we will answer some in future hangs at end of the pod. If this podcast is serving you, If you are finding support within it or you're learning and growing from it, please take a minute to rate and review. It helps us reach other folks who are yearning for this information and looking for a place to connect and dive deeper. Thank you so much. Y 'all are the best. I love this village. All right, folks, let's dive in.  Connect with Maria: Instagram: @autisminblack Website: https://www.autisminblack.org/ Order the book: Self Care Affirmation Journal: 52 Self Care Affirmations to Reconnect with Yourself and Develop a Healthy Mindset Podcast: The Autism In Black Podcast Connect with us: Instagram: @seed.and.sew  Podcast page: Voices of Your Village Seed and Sew's Regulation Quiz: Take the Quiz Order Tiny Humans, Big Emotions now!  Website: seedandsew.org Music by: Ruby Adams and Bensound This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/VOICES. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices