Acceptance

When your child is diagnosed with Autism, you have to accept what is. Even if it is the toughest pill you have to swallow. No parent ever wants to hear those words, but you have 2 choices. You either deny what you are being told, and the only one that suffers is your child, or you accept the diagnosis and start looking for what you can do to help your child. Nothing angers me more then hearing about a parent that says there is nothing wrong with their child, when there is. Swallow your pride, and adjust your dreams you had for your child, and do what you can to help them. No one says you have to give up on your dreams, they might not happen the exact way you wanted, but the dreams that you have for your child can change into something even more then you imagined in your wildest dreams.
Growing up, my Grandpa had nicknames for all of us kids, and grandkids. And it didn't stop when the great grandkids came along too. He gave Carson the nickname of Oscar, (and the bunny that showed up on the farm around the same time was also named Oscar). I would always say that he would always call us by our nick names, unless we were in trouble or there was company. But when Carson was diagnosed, he stopped calling him Oscar. One day I asked him why, and he told me that he didn't want to confuse him or do something that would hurt his progress. 90 years old and my grandparents were more accepting then those much younger and knew more about Autism then them.
When J-Mack, the basketball team manager that played the last couple minutes of a basketball game and sank point after point after point...Grandpa cried and said some day that could be Carson.
When Carson started school he went to kindergarten and they put him in the life skills classroom. I hesitated, but trusted the experts. But it didn't take long for us to realize that accepting what the experts were saying was not what was in the best interest of Carson. I stood up on my hind legs and this Mama Bear said I want to try him in a regular classroom, with an aide. Even though some hesitated, for the 2nd half of the year he was in a regular room, and he did pretty well. Not perfect, but it was a start. We chose to have him repeat kindergarten, and the second year he was in a regular classroom with an aide. And you know what happened - the kids in his class accepted him. They knew he was different, and did things different then them, but they accepted him for who he was. Just Carson Powers - a boy in their class, that almost always had smiles and high fives to share. These same kids have grown up with him, and now they are in 9th grade, and there are still some kids that love to get that smile or high five from their friend and classmate. 
When Carson was born, the dreams for our boy, where what any parent dreams of for their child, but we had to adjust those dreams after Carson was diagnosed. And by accepting that, we have been able to see a boy, grow into a handsome young man that has a smile that can melt your heart, a hug that can make you forget your worries and milestones that can make you jump for joy and want you to shout them from the roof top. Accept that your child is different, and that it is ok. Adjust your sails, and your child will soar above the clouds beyond your wildest dreams.