Autism is the reason I became an SLP.

I met some amazing tiny people with a ton of stuff to communicate, but didn’t know how and that was the moment I knew what direction my life was going.

Today is world autism day. I thought about adding an exclamation mark after that sentence, but to a lot of people this is just another day. To a lot of people this isn’t something they like to celebrate and I understand why. When you have a child with autism the only thing anyone tells you is the bad stuff, the scary stuff, the milestones they won’t reach. As someone who deals with the scary stuff, but also the amazing stuff I’ve got news: they’re selling your kid short.

I promise things will get better. It will be slow, it will be terrifying, and you’re going to find out who your real friends are because everyone else might disappear. But nothing can replace the joy you’ll see when your kid learns a new skill, joins in a game with others even if for just a few turns, uses more than one word on their AAC device, asks a question in a whole sentence, remembers the spatial concepts their SLP has been reviewing with them for months; I could go on forever.

I think autism is beautiful, but not everyone does because sometimes autism means it’s not safe to drive. Sometimes it means feeding your child by hand longer than expected. Sometimes it means going into public less. Today I encourage you NOT to read the statistics. Instead, find a mom with a blog talking about her everyday. The little victories, the big messes, the funny stuff her kid does/says, and her immense love for her child who is different. That’s the beautiful side of autism I wish everyone could see for themselves.