“5 Simple Ways to Support Parents of Children with Autism” originally appeared at freespiritpublishingblog.com. Copyright © 2020 by Free Spirit Publishing. All rights reserved. April is National Autism Awareness Month. April 2 is World Autism Awareness Day. But as we parents of children on the spectrum know, autism is every day, 24/7. We love our children, we’re working hard to help them face their challenges—and we need help. What can you do? It can be as simple as supporting a friend, neighbor, or colleague whose child has a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). 1. Be a good listener: Sometimes, the topic of autism is a thorny one. Parents might

“Telling My Son He Has Autism” originally appeared at freespiritpublishingblog.com. Copyright © 2020 by Free Spirit Publishing. All rights reserved. My son Zachary was diagnosed with autism before his third birthday. It was a devastating day for our family—and a defining moment. There was no time to let the news sink in. We had a lot of work to do. So began a long process of learning about the mysterious condition experts now call autism spectrum disorder (ASD). At first, I went online to do research and then I ordered every book on autism and Asperger’s I could find. I located a parent support group. I hired a team of