Diagnosis is not a prison sentence. Your child, despite it, can have a happy, fulfilling life, make friends, find love, realize her potential. The diagnosis will allow your child access to intervention services. 

There is no cure for autism but autism may not be for life. Gradually, there will be fewer intervention-related activities whereas other activities, based on your child’s interests and hobbies, will replace them. Your child may graduate from the world of autism but she will be able to have a life outside of it. 

Differentiate between medical and educational diagnosis. Autism is not a disease. It means that for your child, social skills and certain life skills have to be taught.

You had probably suspected your child had autism, you had seen writings on the wall. The evaluation results were not shocking news for you. Possibly, they even brought a sense of relief. Now get to work.

The autism diagnosis is a reflection of the behavior profile at this moment in your child’s life, a status quo. There is no blood test, or CT scan to check for it. Not only does it mean different things for different people, it means different things at different times for the same person.

Autism is not what your child is, it’s what she has. She has other strengths and weaknesses, talents, dreams, and a personality. Not everything she does is because of autism.