Autism and Rare Disease Advocate

Hi my name is Bridgett Farmer. At age 3 my daughter, Mila, had severe regression and loss of speech. She began having seizures and tremors. After several tests without answers Mila started special education. I had no idea that this would be the beginning of our journey with Autism and rare disease. Six months later Mila was diagnosed with Level 3 nonverbal Autism. At age 4 after several EEGs and genetic tests Mila was diagnosed with,METTL23, an extremely rare neurological genetic disorder. She was 1 of 6 reported cases in the world at the time. I fought for answers, inclusion,acceptance,and she made me brave. Mila inspired me to share our story to find other families like ours. Over the past 2 years I found 11children and 2 adults across the world with the METTL23 gene and we are working on a research study publication. Sharing Mila's journey has helped me find hope, community, and my life purpose. It is my hope that I can continue to share Mila's story to help other families.