Mona Magno-Veluz: From Isolation to Inclusion

This year, Smart Parenting Awards introduced its newest category: Smart Parenting Gamechangers.

Smart Parenting Gamechangers honors educators, experts, and advocates who uplift Filipino families with authenticity, passion, and purpose. Each awardee is a standout in their field, shaping the lives of parents and children through meaningful work and a commitment to our values. This series celebrates their stories and the impact they create every day.

In 2021 about 1 in 127 persons had autism according to the World Health Organization. In the country, it is estimated that one in every 100 Filipinos is on the autism spectrum based on a 2018 data shared by the Autism Society of the Philippines (ASP). Many cases may go undiagnosed or unreported, especially in rural areas or among populations with limited access to specialist care, which means there could be more Filipinos with mild or moderate autism who may never get formally diagnosed or counted.

Mona Magno-Veluz, known online as Mighty Magulang, is a genealogist, mother, and the longest-serving Autism Society of the Philippines National President. For over twenty years, she has represented the ASP as its national spokesperson, championing and developing livelihood initiatives that welcome and empower people on the spectrum. In 2020, ASP held its Angels Walk for Autism, which was attended by more than 26,000 participants.

For Magno-Veluz, being named a Smart Parenting Gamechanger is both a deep honor and an important responsibility. As someone who has followed Smart Parenting for years, she understands the platform’s influence on Filipino families.

To her, the recognition is not just an achievement—it is a reminder to continue the meaningful work she leads. She shares, “I think there is that intent and desire to do more for people in our community, specifically the disability community and the autism community.”

Smart Parenting (SP): What are the upcoming ASP projects that you're excited about?

MMV: The Autism Society Philippines (ASP) is 36 years old, so we have gone through a lot. And what I am excited about moving forward is of course growing the programs that have had the most impact on our community. This would be the ASP HomePowerment, which is a program that assists parents in taking care of their children at home. This is of course with the guidance of professionals. This program helps out those who are economically vulnerable.

Another program that I'm very excited about is called the ASP AutismWorks Program, and this is a program that I began and I continue to manage as the country manager. This program looks for inclusive employers so that youth on the spectrum who are job-ready can find their place in the workplace. I'm very excited about this because more and more employers are getting their acts together—more and more employers are appreciating the strength of youth on the spectrum, especially for jobs that require focus, that require talent.

And I'm, I'm very happy about that. Another thing I'm excited about is that in our community today, there are more self-advocates who are coming forward and participating. What does that mean? So, it's not just the voice of parents who are being heard. We are also hearing more from adults on the autism spectrum, and I think that is a great development.

SP: As a parent, what lessons from your own experience with your son have shaped the way you advocate for autism inclusion?

MMV: As a parent, of course, I had my own challenges with my eldest son, who is on the autism spectrum, but as he matured, I realized that he also has the right to self-determination. I taught myself to respect him as a separate entity from myself and from the family. His decisions are always respected, and it is not just him learning from us—we are learning so much from him.

I hope that parents out there with kids on the spectrum will also have that mindset that they can teach us how to be better listeners and better parents.

SP: From your perspective, what are we still lacking in terms of government support, schools, workplace, and community programs to build a more autism-inclusive Philippines? On the flip side, what have we done right?

MMV: The Philippine society, specifically the government, has done a lot for people with disabilities. We now have the Magna Carta of persons with disabilities. We have an anti-bullying law. We have a law that makes PhilHealth free for persons with disabilities. We also have many programs within PhilHealth that help with assessments and therapies. All of that happened because of the legal actions taken by our legislators.

I am also appreciative of the LGUs who have their own programs within their cities that facilitate free therapies, free assessment, but there is still a lot to do. We've done a lot, but there's still a lot to do.

Right now, we are helping legislators finalize the Autism Care Plan Bill. What that bill in Congress aims to do is not to build another building. No, that's not what that means. It means we want each and every government agency to have a plan to address the needs of families and Filipinos on the autism spectrum.

What does that mean? So for example, we should have not just services for persons on the autism spectrum, we should also care for the mental health of the parents. Because in this journey, talagang magkasama. We are hand-in-hand with our children. This is a path that we are trekking together and we hope the government can help both the caregivers and the person we are caring for.

SP: How do you hope your work influences how society sees and includes children with autism in the next few years?

MMV: Alam n’yo–I'm being candid here–I am just doing my work because I feel that I have to be the change that I want to see in the world.

I don't have this grand, you know, image of myself actually making that big of an impact. I really didn't do this for that. I am doing this so I can help those in my immediate sphere of influence. If I manage to make it a bigger thing and more people are either inspired or impacted by the work that I do—I will be very thankful.

SP: Do you have any message for ausome parents?

MMV: For parents who are also on this path with their kids on the autism spectrum, I guess my message is “laban lang,” right? Whatever challenge life throws at you, you likely have the means to answer it; you have the means to address the challenges. But if you cannot, there are always other parents and organizations like the Autism Society Philippines who are there to help you out. We can help facilitate this journey so that we can become not just good parents, but also good human beings.

Employers who wish to participate in the ASP Autism Works program may send an email to autismphils@gmail.com.

Produced by the Smart Parenting Team
Editor-in-Chief: Ronna Capili Bonifacio
Asst. Managing Editor/Co-Producer: Em Cruz
Interview by Hanna Panoringan
Art Director: Mariella Lao
Videographer and video editor: Rolando Pingco Jr.
Associate Publisher: Bettina Santos
Photographs by Paola Aseron
Hair and Makeup by Team Muriel Vega Perez