Faith Evans continues to fight for her autistic son, Ryder Russaw, to have the same quality of life as other children. The celebrity mom recently sat down with Shondaland to talk about the steps she takes to make certain her son is counted in life.
“I want to create something that will be out there forever,” Faith said of her plans to produce a documentary that highlights the unbalanced treatment children with autism face in the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) system. Faith took her son out of one school after witnessing a staff member mishandle Ryder.
“I saw a behaviorist mishandling him,” Evans revealed. “Then there was the time in the same school where they had him blocked into a wall behind a desk,” the celebrity continued. “He had to go to the bathroom, and he went over the desk, and he pushed the teacher aside, and they suspended him.”
Faith removed her son from LAUSD’s system and filed a due process complaint with the district after the bathroom incident. The celebrity mom has also moved to become more active in spreading awareness about autism through symposiums and other events.
“I want my son to have the same quality of life as any other child his age,” Evans told Shondaland. “I want to be able to frame the symposiums a different way. I want to be able to have professionals, teachers on it, so they can talk. I want perspectives from different professionals, as well as parents who are living and going through it.”
In addition to holding in-person events, Faith Evans and her husband, Stevie J, have a foundation called Ryder’s Room Inc. that offers support to parents with autistic children.
“Stevie said I really needed to do it because this is what we’re living,” Faith shared. “I want to raise funds to be able to donate it to families who may be in need,” she added. “We started doing YouTube symposiums to help people who may not have the resources or idea where to go.”
You can learn more about Ryder’s Room Inc. here. Faith Evans has four kids.
Photo: Faith Evans/Instagram
