Everything I needed to know about caring for my autistic son came from marketing and LaCroix

Managing a brand is not so different from caring for someone who becomes handicapped. Brands do not see or hear, so they are at the mercy of their owners or care providers who must preserve the dignity and special character that the brand exemplifies.

This comment from LaCroix CEO Nick Caporella made headlines this week, and triggered a tsunami of outrage from the disability community, where some people actually objected to the implication that “disabled people have owners, like pets!”

As a LaCroix addict who left a career in marketing to care for my autistic son, I feel uniquely qualified to speak to the many parallels between brand management and disability caregiving. I mean, I understand that Caporella’s comments might make him sound like an asshole, but there is deep well of sparkling, flavor-infused wisdom buried inside his off-hand analogy.

Indeed, I often feel that my years in the marketing trenches were the ideal preparation for my current life of navigating special needs health care, managing adaptive homeschooling, and coping with the day-to-day challenges of autistic rigidity and meltdowns. (All of which are much easier to take when you’re holding an ice-cold can of Berry LaCroix.) Here are just some of the ways that marketing…