NEVER.

The words came early and often, but there was one that always seemed to stand out.

NEVER.

"Your child has an abstract mind; he will never play imaginatively like “typical” children."

"Your child will never have a normal conversation with you."

...Among others.

As a parent on the journey with a child on the autism spectrum, often times at first you are holding on to the words of the so-called professionals, just for a glimpse of what the future might hold. What I’ve learned, is when it comes to autism, the professionals are far from experts. If they were, they would know what Elijah’s preschool teachers know, “If you know one child with autism, you know one child with autism.” That just because you have a four year degree, you have NO grounds to dictate the future of a child.  That autism is every form is different, that there is no manual, no guidebook, nothing that could ever dictate what will or won’t happen for a child on the spectrum. Anything you try to say about the future is nothing more than an educated opinion and should not be shared as fact!

But I do have to thank these doctors, because the terrible advice and forecast of the future, sure has made it a little bit sweeter when Elijah has developed these skills. By the age of five.

If I’ve learned anything from these “professionals”, it is that I will never listen to the word never. And that’s the only time the word never really applies. As parents, we are told to educate our children, if you want something enough and work hard enough to achieve it, anything is possible. For myself, my five year old has done a tremendous job of reminding me this. ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE. (Oh, and never say never!)