Eli is my son.Īs the shock slowly settled in, my wife and I tried to sort through our options. These are not the words a parent wishes to hear. And Eli might eventually be able to move in to a supervised group home as an adult, and possibly even hold a job of sorts some day…say sacking groceries. Eli might be able to live at home…for a time. If we could afford therapy, and if Eli responded, and if everything went well, we were told that Eli might be able to speak a few words…eventually.
When we asked about his long-term prospects, the professionals tried to sound upbeat as they outlined our choices. We’d known for some time that something was terribly wrong, but hearing the words and grasping their meaning remains a moment frozen in time, as all hope of a normal life for our family seemingly slipped away. Three years later Eli’s family sat in silence as a team of specialists announced that Eli was autistic. Eli was born a healthy and vibrant baby, welcomed into the world and embraced by his overjoyed parents and two brothers in 1993.
