"Mom, Will I Outgrow Autism?"

“Mom, will I outgrow autism?”

“Son, I don’t know. Some doctors say autism lasts a lifetime; others say some kids do outgrow it. I hope both are correct. I hope you learn how to handle the things that are difficult for you, but I also hope you never lose the gifts that autism has given you — your incredible memory, your powers of observation and your ability to envision the world as it should be.”

My son’s triennial evaluation is coming due this fall, and my son is doing so well in school that he may indeed lose his educational diagnosis of autism. He is understandably proud of his accomplishments, but after living with autism for so long, it is strange to contemplate life without it.

I hope I answered his question well.