Over the weekend, The Valley star Brittany Cartwright shared a detailed update about her son Cruz Cauchi’s autism journey.
In a lengthy Instagram post, the Kentucky native announced her new partnership with Autism Speaks to create Cruz’s Crew. The purpose of the initiative is to raise awareness and support children and families within the autism community.
“If you’ve been following our journey, you know navigating Cruz’s autism has been both challenging and incredibly rewarding,” she captioned the post. “I’ve learned so much about the power of early intervention and how vital a supportive, understanding community truly is.”
Brittany Cartwright has provided a new update on her son Cruz’s autism diagnosis
Britt’s partnership with Autism Speaks kicked off with a special sensory-friendly play day at Chuck E. Cheese.
“Seeing Cruz light up and connecting with other amazing families meant the world!” she wrote. “Through @cruzs.crew, we’ll continue to raise awareness and support Autism Speaks so families everywhere can enjoy inclusive experiences like this.”
Last April, Brittany went public with Cruz’s autism, explaining that he’d been diagnosed six months earlier.
“He crawled early, he walked early,” she told People at the time. “He was talking, he was saying, ‘Mommy,’ ‘Daddy,’ he was saying ‘Hot Dog!’ from Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Then, as he got closer to 2, we started noticing that he was regressing in his speech. He stopped talking almost completely.”
In addition to her new life as an autism mom, Britt’s also going through divorce from Cruz’s dad Jax Taylor. Though their married life was certainly rocky, the pair have come together as a team to co-parent their son.
To support him at preschool, Cruz has a therapeutic companion who helps him navigate the classroom. He also does speech and occupational therapy several times a week. While at home, his mom has created a sensory room fitted with a trampoline and lights to help him regulate when he’s overstimulated, or “stimming.”
As an attentive mom, Britt has learned how to help her son when he’s overstimulated. “Whenever he does start the stimming,” she said. “I just embrace [him]. Sometimes I will flap with him, or I will spin in circles with him. Or I’ll just give him a hug. He loves tight squeezes.”
The Valley is streaming on Peacock.
TELL US – ARE YOU SURPRISED TO HEAR THAT BRITT AND JAX ARE WORKING TOGETHER TO HELP THEIR SON?
