Name: Koko Tattoo | Symbol: Autism Awareness Ribbon | Tattoo Artist: Germ | Tattoo Studio: Lucky 13 | Comments: My brother is autistic and this ribbon represents him. The missing piece has his name in it and it shows he is a missing piece of this complex puzzle. Yes, its simple yet it's still complex with a deep meaning.

According to News 7 reporter, Phil Levin, “If a picture is worth a thousand words then tattoo artist Guy Daniels writes biographies.” The reporter spoke with tattoo shop owner Guy Daniels to get the details on an unique fundraiser, held this weekend. What was the fundraiser? Tattoos for Autism. The tattoo shop owner of Wausau, Wisconsin donated the proceeds from yesterday’s work to benefit autism causes.

“You can find out quite a lot about a person just by giving them a tattoo and talking to them,” said Guy Daniels, owner of Expressions Ink in downtown Wausau.

Few connections are as personal and as permanent as the ones written by tattoo artists like Daniels.

“Most of the tattoos I do have I went through a hard period,” said Randy Waldherr, whose four-year-old grandson has autism.

Daniels says many of his customers at Expressions Ink expressed their struggles raising children with autism. On Saturday, Daniels gave a family with an autistic four-year-old a permanent reminder of their battle, and a gift to the entire autistic community: profits from Saturday’s sessions will go towards autism treatment.

“There aren’t a lot of support groups around and I want to be able to help out any way I can,” said Amanda Mrozek, who bought an autism puzzle piece tattoo Saturday. She told Levin that it’s been a struggle getting her autistic child to be social and share what’s on his mind.

kdordy/flickr

But for Daniels and his customers, it is as much about raising money as it is recording another chapter in their illustrated autobiography.

“It’s just a very big part of my life, it always will be,” said Mrozek. “I want to be reminded of the things we’ve gone through, the good and the bad.”

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