My nerves started jangling daily when my son turned two, and inched closer to three, with just a handful of words and a whole lot of precious but unintelligible chatter in his speech résumé.
By the time he was three and still hadn’t begun speaking in two-word sentences, my worry reached a breaking point. What if he had autism? In addition to the lack of speech, there were other signs, too: the way every noise our new puppy made caused my son to clap his hands over his ears and scream in extreme pain. The way he turned away from kids his own age, finding it difficult to cope with their sounds and mannerisms.
He started speech therapy just after he turned three, and after a few weeks, I hedged the question with his speech therapist: “Do you think he has autism?”
She said it was a possibility. On the way home, I cried. A few months later came the evaluation and diagnosis, along with a prescription for Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) therapy.
I figured I’d throw myself into becoming an “autism mom.”
For over a year now, I have celebrated his Autistic-ness because it is an integral part of who he is.
I would never, ever want to erase it. Because that would mean erasing my son. Instead, I want him to be proud of who he is — an awesome, Autistic kid.
Who, by the way, is thriving. He’s in speech therapy it only takes up an hour a week. Most importantly, it’s designed to help him gain agency and independence in his own life. Instead of stifling him, it draws out his natural strengths and builds them up.
If your child is Autistic, take some time to read books and articles written by Autistic adults. Seek out therapists who affirm your child for who they are and help them feel proud of themselves. Learn their communication style. Watch movies, like Disney Pixar’s Loop, that feature Autistic characters portrayed by Autistic actors. Shut down people who comment that they’re “so sorry” with an “I love that my kid is Autistic. It’s part of his identity and it makes him him.”
Together, you and your Autistic kiddo can work to make the world a more accessible, accepting place for Autistic people everywhere.
