Honesty matters to us. This page is clear about who we are, what we offer, and what we are not.
Last updated: June 2025 · Applies to autismawarenesszimbabwe.com
Autism Awareness Zimbabwe was founded by Marilyn Laiva, a mother with lived experience of raising a child on the autism spectrum. Marilyn is based in the United Kingdom.
Marilyn is not a doctor, clinical psychologist, speech therapist, occupational therapist, or any other regulated health or education professional. The content on this platform is created from the perspective of a parent who has lived this experience, researched deeply, and built practical tools to help other families navigate theirs.
That lived experience is the foundation of everything here. It is a different kind of expertise — and in many ways, for many families, it is exactly the kind they need most.
Nothing on this website — including our courses, free resources, tools, blog content, research summaries, or any other material — constitutes medical advice, clinical advice, therapeutic advice, or a professional diagnosis.
Our content is educational and informational. It is intended to support, inform, and empower families — not to replace professional assessment or treatment.
Our resources on rights — including the Know Your Rights guide, school support letters, and hospital complaint tools — are informational resources to help families understand their options and advocate more effectively. They are not legal advice and do not create a lawyer-client relationship.
If you need legal representation or formal legal counsel, please consult a qualified legal professional in your country.
Where we reference research, studies, or statistics — including the University of Wisconsin-Madison cortisol study cited on this site — we endeavour to represent them accurately and in context. We include sources so you can read the original research yourself.
Research in the autism field evolves continuously. While we aim to keep our content current, some information may not reflect the most recent findings. We encourage you to consult multiple sources and speak with professionals about what the research means for your specific situation.
Our courses share practical knowledge, frameworks, and strategies that we believe are genuinely helpful. However, every family, every child, and every situation is different. We cannot guarantee specific outcomes from taking our courses or using our tools.
Much of our content is written with Zimbabwe and African families specifically in mind, and with awareness of the cultural, social, and systemic realities those families navigate. Where content discusses legal rights, professional systems, or local resources, it reflects our best understanding of the situation in Zimbabwe and the UK.
If you are accessing our content from a different country, some information may not apply directly to your context. Please verify local resources, rights, and services with professionals or organisations in your own region.
We link to external websites, research papers, and organisations where we believe they are genuinely useful. We do not control the content of those external sites and cannot be responsible for their accuracy, availability, or the way they may change over time.
We do not currently have affiliate relationships — meaning we do not earn commission from recommending any product, tool, or service. If this changes, we will disclose it clearly. Our partner relationships are separate from content recommendations and are always disclosed.
If you have questions about anything on this page or concerns about content on our site, please contact us at hello@autismawarenesszimbabwe.com. We read every message.