I’m mama to two boys. Santi- a neurotypical 11 year old boy, and Gooli ( nickname. don’t worry)- a six year old boy diagnosed with ASD, on the Autism Spectrum, or Autistic (you pick). Dad and I have been together for almost TWENTY years now.

Before I became Santi and Gooli’s mama, I was a whole driven person who earned a PhD in Clinical Psychology and became a Licensed Psychologist. But don’t be fooled, as this title has proven only marginally helpful in my quest to be the mama my Autism family needs. I foolishly focused my studies and practice to work with adults (hindsight 20-20!).

I was inspired to share our family’s story on this site after finding incredible comfort in peeking into the lives of other Autism families. Following our diagnosis, we became isolated, scared, and lost. The professionals could only tell us 1) they don’t know what causes Autism 2) they recommend “early intervention” but otherwise there is no “real treatment”, and 3) they can’t predict with any certainty where Gooli will land on the spectrum- where he would be at year 3, 4, 5, 6…. With this backdrop, I became fascinated with learning about other Autism families- what were they doing, how were their children doing after a year, or two, or three? Seeing my Gooli reflected in stories and videos of other families, and then seeing those families developing and thriving fed me hope. They let me dream of a future when we too could reach important milestones as a family.

My genuine hope is that a family out there will stumble across our story and find comfort and hope. It will get better! Autism doesn’t have to mean the end of hopes and dreams for our kids and our families. We can even learn to appreciate this experience and let it stretch us.

I hope you’ll join our family on this unpredictable adventure!