Is it wrong to say that we will beat autism?
Our lil man has come so far in his journey with autism that I refuse to believe we can’t beat it. (Note: There is a difference between beating it and curing it.) I know that within him, there will always be a some ‘autism’. But we have come so far that I refuse to believe that he won’t be exactly who he wants to be in life. If he wants to be a firefighter, race car driver, doctor, teacher, he will be.
When our lil man was just turning three, this is how I described him (taken directly from a letter to our family). 
“Lil man’s biggest obstacle is communication and some social skills. When engaging him in a conversation currently he is not likely to respond, but please don’t avoid trying to communicate with him. Lil man is able to understand what you are saying to him, and he is learning how to respond through ECSE (Early Childhood Special Education), Occupational Therapy, Speech Therapy and specialized autism schooling he will be starting soon. As far as how it impacts him socially, lil man may be a little shy until he warms up to you. Also he plays parallel to other children or on his own, he is still learning how to play together with others.“
Today. Well today, our lil man is fighting every day to be 100% in “our world”. We may not see daily progress and some weeks we have to look hard to find the progress. But it is there. Especially if you are not around him for a period of time.
Each word, each sentence, every eye contact, is lil man working hard. Beating autism. Telling autism it doesn’t define him.
