One Night.

Language regression is hell.

I remember my son had the cutest little voice and his language was progressing quite well.

One night he went to bed and woke up the next day completely silent. I didn’t know it then but autism was a silent thief and took his words. There was no warning. The words were just gone…..lost.

It was scary and heart breaking that things could change so quickly. In a matter of one night Stalen went from chatty to quiet.

One night.

Nothing prepares you for seeing your child go from happy and thriving to quiet and surviving.

I was heartbroken and scared that we didn’t know what was happening or when he would speak again.

I can’t imagine how he felt. He was just a baby.

I was worried that we had done something wrong. Then I learned that he had autism and it all started to come together.

I had never known a non-speaking person before and now I am raising one. We have definitely seen our share of behaviours and meltdowns due to the frustration and inability to communicate and express wants and needs.

We don’t have it all figured out, not even close.
But, over time we have adjusted. Stalen has found a means to communicate using gestures and his AAC device. We still have moments when communication is extremely difficult and non-existent. We still have moments of frustration. There are still tears.

But,

we definitely have more hope than we had on that day that we woke up to silence.

we definitely have more faith that things can always improve and get better.

we definitely know that heartbreak can be replaced with healing.

we definitely know that darkness can be replaced with sunshine.

There is nothing more powerful than the hope and love you have for your child.