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(Inside: No One Knows Your Autistic Child’s Future. Who they are at 3 isn’t who they’ll be at 13 or 30. An autism diagnosis does NOT mean your child’s development is done!)

When people join my Embracing Autism community, I ask them what their biggest question about autism is. And more and more, my admins and I have been seeing the same themes over and over again…

“I just want my child to have the best future possible…”

“I wish I knew what will happen when my child is older…”

“I just want to help my child have a successful life in the future…”

It’s clear that parents are seriously concerned about their autistic children’s future, and I don’t blame them.

See, when you get an autism diagnosis for your child, the doctors can fill you with a ton of fear.

“Your child is non-verbal, they’ll never communicate.”

“Your child might never graduate high school or live independently.”

“Your child will always struggle to make friends and may never have true relationships.”

Sound familiar?

But today, I’m going to let you in on a little secret… And it all boils down to this:

3 Isn’t 13. And 13 isn’t 30.

See, who your child is today is not the same person your child will be ten or twenty years down the road.

And no one – not even your child’s therapists or doctors – knows your autistic child’s future.

No One Knows Your Autistic Child's Future. Who they are at 3 isn't who they'll be at 13 or 30. An autism diagnosis does NOT mean your child's development is done! #Autism #AutismAcceptance #AutismDiagnosis #ActuallyAutistic #Disability #AutismParenting

(Image description: Mom holds a young boy outside facing away from the camera. Teal and coral text on a white background reads: “No One Knows Your Autistic Child’s Future” at the bottom of the image. White Autistic Mama infinity logo in the top right corner.)

No One Knows Your Autistic Child's Future. Who they are at 3 isn't who they'll be at 13 or 30. An autism diagnosis does NOT mean your child's development is done! #Autism #AutismAcceptance #AutismDiagnosis #ActuallyAutistic #Disability #AutismParenting
No One Knows Your Autistic Child's Future. Who they are at 3 isn't who they'll be at 13 or 30. An autism diagnosis does NOT mean your child's development is done! #Autism #AutismAcceptance #AutismDiagnosis #ActuallyAutistic #Disability #AutismParenting
No One Knows Your Autistic Child's Future. Who they are at 3 isn't who they'll be at 13 or 30. An autism diagnosis does NOT mean your child's development is done! #Autism #AutismAcceptance #AutismDiagnosis #ActuallyAutistic #Disability #AutismParenting
No One Knows Your Autistic Child's Future. Who they are at 3 isn't who they'll be at 13 or 30. An autism diagnosis does NOT mean your child's development is done! #Autism #AutismAcceptance #AutismDiagnosis #ActuallyAutistic #Disability #AutismParenting
No One Knows Your Autistic Child's Future. Who they are at 3 isn't who they'll be at 13 or 30. An autism diagnosis does NOT mean your child's development is done! #Autism #AutismAcceptance #AutismDiagnosis #ActuallyAutistic #Disability #AutismParenting
No One Knows Your Autistic Child's Future. Who they are at 3 isn't who they'll be at 13 or 30. An autism diagnosis does NOT mean your child's development is done! #Autism #AutismAcceptance #AutismDiagnosis #ActuallyAutistic #Disability #AutismParenting
No One Knows Your Autistic Child's Future. Who they are at 3 isn't who they'll be at 13 or 30. An autism diagnosis does NOT mean your child's development is done! #Autism #AutismAcceptance #AutismDiagnosis #ActuallyAutistic #Disability #AutismParenting
No One Knows Your Autistic Child's Future. Who they are at 3 isn't who they'll be at 13 or 30. An autism diagnosis does NOT mean your child's development is done! #Autism #AutismAcceptance #AutismDiagnosis #ActuallyAutistic #Disability #AutismParenting
No One Knows Your Autistic Child's Future. Who they are at 3 isn't who they'll be at 13 or 30. An autism diagnosis does NOT mean your child's development is done! #Autism #AutismAcceptance #AutismDiagnosis #ActuallyAutistic #Disability #AutismParenting
No One Knows Your Autistic Child's Future. Who they are at 3 isn't who they'll be at 13 or 30. An autism diagnosis does NOT mean your child's development is done! #Autism #AutismAcceptance #AutismDiagnosis #ActuallyAutistic #Disability #AutismParenting
No One Knows Your Autistic Child's Future. Who they are at 3 isn't who they'll be at 13 or 30. An autism diagnosis does NOT mean your child's development is done! #Autism #AutismAcceptance #AutismDiagnosis #ActuallyAutistic #Disability #AutismParenting
No One Knows Your Autistic Child's Future. Who they are at 3 isn't who they'll be at 13 or 30. An autism diagnosis does NOT mean your child's development is done! #Autism #AutismAcceptance #AutismDiagnosis #ActuallyAutistic #Disability #AutismParenting
No One Knows Your Autistic Child's Future. Who they are at 3 isn't who they'll be at 13 or 30. An autism diagnosis does NOT mean your child's development is done! #Autism #AutismAcceptance #AutismDiagnosis #ActuallyAutistic #Disability #AutismParenting
No One Knows Your Autistic Child's Future. Who they are at 3 isn't who they'll be at 13 or 30. An autism diagnosis does NOT mean your child's development is done! #Autism #AutismAcceptance #AutismDiagnosis #ActuallyAutistic #Disability #AutismParenting
No One Knows Your Autistic Child's Future. Who they are at 3 isn't who they'll be at 13 or 30. An autism diagnosis does NOT mean your child's development is done! #Autism #AutismAcceptance #AutismDiagnosis #ActuallyAutistic #Disability #AutismParenting

3 Isn’t 13. And 13 isn’t 30 | No One Knows Your Autistic Child’s Future

(Related: 5 Powerful Autism Secrets They Don’t Tell You at Diagnosis)

If your child struggles with communication, or social skills, or meltdowns, take a deep breath. Because struggling with something in childhood doesn’t mean they’ll forever struggle with these same exact things.

Think about it. What did you struggle with when you were in elementary school?

I’m willing to bet that you don’t still have those exact same behaviors.

Your Child Doesn’t Stop Developing When They are Diagnosed

See, so many people get their child’s autism diagnosis and they just think that life and development stops.

But the fact is, your child is constantly learning new things and growing in new ways.

When my son got his diagnosis, he only communicated through movie scripts, and now he has full conversations with people.

And spoiler alert: we didn’t put him in hours and hours of intensive autism therapies to get these kinds of results… We just followed his lead, connected with him, and supported him in his own natural development timeline.

Oh yeah, and my son was diagnosed when he was 4, and he’s now 8. Just imagine what he’ll be doing when he’s 14!

No One Knows Your Autistic Child’s Future

Now, the fact is, no one knows your autistic child’s future.

Not the doctors, not the therapists, and not even me.

While I can say that my son has had leaps in his development since we learned about his diagnosis and better understood how to support him, I can also acknowledge that some autistic children will continue to be non-speaking well into adulthood.

But here’s the thing: Even if your autistic child is non-speaking into adulthood, that’s okay!

There are tons of non-speaking adult autistics who are leading fabulous lives.

And even though these autistics are still non-speaking, or still have meltdowns, or still have social struggles… They’re still completely different people as adults than they were as children.

See, just because an autistic person’s autistic behaviors don’t change, that doesn’t mean they aren’t developing.

All autistics are just developing on their own natural timeline, even if it isn’t easy for others to see and understand that development.

Don’t Limit Your Child Based On Their Abilities at Diagnosis

The bottom line in this entire post is this: Who your autistic child is at 3 does not tell you who they will be at 13, or who they will be at 30.

So I want to challenge you… Don’t limit your child based on their abilities when they’re diagnosed.

Remember that your autistic child will continue to grow and develop in their own way after their diagnosis, just like they grew and developed before their diagnosis.

No one looks at a 6-month-old baby and thinks “they can’t talk, so clearly they’ll never talk” or thinks “they can’t walk, clearly they’ll never walk on their own”.

It’s so much better to presume competence with your autistic children.

Assume that your child will be able to do whatever they want to do. Assume that your child is capable of learning and growing and developing on their own timeline. 

Then your job as their parent is all about supporting your child as much as you can in that development.

And everything becomes a whole lot easier from there, I promise!

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