Good article, Meaghan, and you’re so right. People shouldn’t go into denial. There are always people who are worse off. My autistic grandson got early intervention. I was the first one to notice he was autistic at around a year old, and fortunately his parents didn’t get upset with me for mentioning it.

In the case of my grandson, even the early intervention didn’t help as much as we had hoped. He is 12 now and still not potty trained or verbal. He bolts away every time he is out of the house, and now he’s so big and fast that we can’t catch him. Hence, he has to be kept under lock and key to keep him safe. His parents are very easygoing and accepting, which is a good thing I think. But as he grows bigger and stronger I don’t know how they’ll handle him. He’s a very sweet, previous boy, but it isn’t easy.