It would be nice to hear the father's thoughts and experiences of the flight and if there has been an improvement since

This is a nice and heartwarming story. I hope the keed kept getting the help he needed afterwards. And the protagonist of the story is a wonderful woman, best wishes to all of them!

This is such a great story! Although I don’t think I have any form of autism, I have always had a hard time communicating and connecting with other people. Even though I’m probably just a combination of an introvert and a person with pretty bad social anxiety, I feel as though I am constantly written off as rude for not participating or not really talking to others. In truth I am the exact opposite. If someone simply takes the time to be patient with me and let me come out of my shell at my own pace, you’d be surprised how talkative and friendly I can be. Please take the time to let people leave behind their shy exteriors at their own pace. If you show them love and patience, amazing friendships can be built.

Really beautiful and moving story. The universe works in strange and wondrous ways and I am so happy that these three came together. As a linguistics major I’m kind of said that I was never introduced to speech pathology as a possible career path. It sounds like such an amazing and rewarding job!

Awesome!!

I was behind in speaking, for a while. :) I honestly like typing much better- it's hard to form verbal words sometimes. I have no clear way to describe "why" it's difficult. Sometimes people who can't speak are still intelligent- perhaps even more advanced than given credit for- they just need someone to believe in them.

My son has autism, we knew something was different from about 9 months but nobody took us seriously until his nursery teacher flagged it up at age 3. Cue 3 years of CDC, educational psychologists, social workers etc. and finally a diagnosis. His development in many areas was delayed and we never got an apology for the accusations that were levelled against us about his delays in potty training, speech and writing, plus his meltdowns. He now gets 1to1 support at school, social services support and money which we spend on sensory equipment and after school club twice a week to help with his socialisation. He is high functioning but when he's upset his hands clamp on his ears and he won't talk to or look at anyone. I worked with him to create a small set of hand gestures which really help. With a condition as varied as autism, custom communication solutions are often required. This amazing woman has probably saved this young boy's life and future.

Awesome woamn!

That's just sad that no one had ever mentioned AAC to an autistic child's parents before he turned 10.

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"By the mid-1990s, the scientific community had proved over and over again that it was the facilitator—not the disabled communication partner—who was typing the messages. Every time. Full stop." Sorry to harsh your buzz. It must have felt nice to be a savior for a few hours, but it wasn't about you. what will that https://www.forbes.com/sites/stevensalzberg/2018/06/18/facilitated-communication-may-be-an-abuse-of-human-rights-why-is-a-university-teaching-it/#60f69fad29f3