Forever Boy: Mom's story of son's severe autism diagnosis 

I definitely can relate to this my son was just diagnosed he’s 4. When your a first time parent you don’t know you think they just need more time and my husband was saying he’s fine. His doctor never really thought it was anything serious either. Covid really made it even harder we were isolated like most people and I was stressed because of working from home and taking care of him at the same time. Now I’m trying to pick up the pieces and start him on ABA therapy which I’m nervous about. He’s been in speech therapy for the past 2 years which as helped so I’m hoping I’m making the right decision. It’s just so overwhelming when you have a child with special needs you feel like your not doing enough or your doing it wrong or you made the wrong decision.

Wow, I love the upbeat attitude you have!

What an amazing mum and a lucky biy to born into such an amazing family ❤

I might not have autism, and I still found this very heartwarming.

I have autism spectrum disorder I was diagnosed when I was 11 years old I still struggle through life but as age and years of dealing with life I find it was easier to accept it and now I'm 35 years old still struggles with common things

The worst bit is the lack of services and the battle to get support. From professionals.

Kudos!!!!!! As a mom of a grown daughter with Asperger’s Syndrome I can relate 💯 Was diagnosed in 2004 at 3 years old. After IEPs and years of therapy I can tell you my daughter is a Junior in college majoring in psychology and in a very famous marching band in a Ohio college! TBDBITL Yes a different path but a successful one is achievable! ❤️🙏

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My son got much worse after ABA therapy and he is severely autistic.

I am almost certain my daughter has autism. She is almost 3 and her speech is very limited, basically no speech except a few words. She is currently in speech therapy and had an evaluation just yesterday to determine what could be causing this. We won't have the results until December 7th so I'm currently freaking out. :( so lonely feeling this way and I just want her to be ok

The title "Forever Boy" feels like a premature label. It is true that autistic kids are late hitting certain milestones, but that doesn't mean they'll never hit them. Being autistic myself and having spoken to many autistic adults online. It's actually pretty common for milestones to be met later in life. I've seen stories were some autistic kids didn't speak until they were at least 6 or 7. Or they ended up relying on an AAC. There was a guy I recall who said he wasn't able to read until he was 10. Some still can't handle basic day to day activities, but can still thrive in other parts of society. Even in adulthood. So many of us didn't start driving until our 20s. My point is that missing milestones doesn't mean they'll never come. And saying he'll "Forever be a boy" when he's still just a kid, could be traumatizing for him if he does start hitting late milestones. As Infantilization is a major trigger of meltdowns in autistic adults.

Feral. Severe and profound are feral people.

Big lack of help with severe autism individuals and thier parents. My son has severe autism and were pretty much all alone.