I don’t talk about my family much because I’m pretty private. We live in a popular house that strangers visit daily so to get online and open up more can seem invasive.

Today is #WorldAutismAwarenessDay and our son is on the autism spectrum. He is a bright boy who loves blue, squares, cars, trains, planes, swimming, snorkeling, singing twenty one pilot songs, and Mario Cart & Minecraft. All of this, along with his challenges, make him unique.

We hear the stupid comments all the time – “he doesn’t look like he has autism” or “he talks so well.” His verbal skills came quite late; we are grateful for his very literal way of expressing everything. While I’ll assume these comments have good intentions (because they come from friends) they hurt. Stop, if I start to open up about our journey, please just listen.

This last week was very difficult. We saw his differences in coping skills really come out when he went to baseball practice – it was sensory overload. It was very hard to watch your child struggle, to melt down over and over again and to not be understood by others – even his sweet, older sister recognized what what happening during the practice.

He sees the world in such a unique way. He is a good reminder to check in on your kids and make sure THEY understand.