Read More, Post Less

 Embracing the autism spectrum

By Earl D.C. Bracamonte

A mother, who traveled with her daughter with autism, together with her mother and husband, were almost offloaded from a flight back home to the US because of her daughter’s special needs.

A week later, she posted a grievance letter on social media where she received a very heart-warming response from an airline personnel who also happens to have a family member on tbe autism spectrum.

“Mommy, are you crying?”

Irene Laturnas Velasco’s book, “Read More, Post Less: A Filipino father who had no words for empathy, and the daughter who didn’t need one,” begins with that question. Everything else is the answer!

“Being a mom to a child with special needs has been the best thing that has ever happened to me. Maddie’s autism diagnosis left me with no choice but to change my way of relating with the world. Maddie has taught me the beauty of letting go; embracing life for what it is, and making the most out of it,” Irene shared.

Irene is a licensed psychotherapist specializing in identity, life transitions, mood disorders, and imposter syndrome. She is a marathoner, mental health & neurodiversity advocate, and the mother of 10-year-old Madison (Maddie), a child with autism.

Raised in La Libertad, Negros Oriental and now based in Vallejo, California, Irene writes with honesty & heart about family, migration, and the power of presence. Her debut memoir is a tribute to the unsung influences and small gestures that shape our lives in lasting ways.

This book is about seeing and being seen – sometimes for the first time; sometmes, after years of being missed.