I want to share and perhaps discuss how life will change after a diagnosis of Autism. When you first hear the word “Autism” it’s like someone sucked all the air out of the room because I couldn’t breathe.

It’s in many ways the best and worst day of your life so far. You finally know why your child is “different” but then you finally “KNOW” why your child is different. Best and worst day all in one. You will most likely remember the exact moment you found out. I remember the exact moment for both of my kids.

You will be on a first name basis with words like spectrum, comorbidity, occupational therapy, speech therapy etc. Plan on becoming an expert in your child’s particular diagnosis because you most likely will. You may very well end up being the only voice your child will have. Be prepared for heartbreak because there will be heartbreak.

The world can be a cruel place. You will feel guilty (though needlessly) because you will somehow feel responsible. I have been there, most of us have been there. However, at the same time be ready for joy because you will get excited over every little step forward and there will be steps forward. You will have a new appreciation life that you may not have had before. The little things will mean more then you can imagine.

You will find yourself planning your life out well ahead of time because of wanting to make things as consistent and underwhelming as possible for your sensory sensitive child. You will discover things to do that you never thought of before because you’ll learn what your child can and cannot take. You will miss the things you had planned on doing before the diagnosis but you will discover that those things were just things.

You may even find creative ways to do things in a way your child can handle. Those times really make you feel good.

You will find the journey ahead long and difficult. It can and probably will become lonely at times. No matter how lonely you feel the reality is your not alone. One thing you will find out fairly quickly is that there is a very supportive community of parents like yourselves out there ready to share experiences and offer advice or even just listen.

We know what you are going through and we are here to help even if the rest of the world seems to be against you. You will embrace your child for who they are. You have become a special needs parent.

I had planned on writing more but right now life won’t allow it.