I Stopped Trying to Fix My Child — and Everything Changed
When my son Jake was diagnosed with autism, I didn’t realize how much pressure I quietly placed on both of us. I was determined to help him succeed — but underneath that determination was fear. Fear that if I didn’t do enough, or do the right things fast enough, I might fail him. I didn’t see it at the time, but I was parenting from panic.
Everything changed the moment I stopped trying to fix my child — and started trying to understand him.
Why Creative Storytelling Builds Confidence in Autistic Kids (Without Pressure)
Confidence isn’t something you can force.
I learned that the hard way.
Like many parents raising an autistic child, I spent years trying to teach confidence — through routines, encouragement, therapy tools, and reassurance. I thought if I said the right things often enough, confidence would stick. It didn’t. What changed everything wasn’t more instruction.
It was creative storytelling.
7 Signs I Didn’t Notice Before My Son’s Autism Diagnosis
When my son Jake was three and a half years old, he was diagnosed with autism. Looking back, I realized there were signs I didn’t recognize — not because I wasn’t paying attention, but because I didn’t yet understand what I was seeing.