My son’s name is Johnny. He was diagnosed as autistic quite late, at age four. The signs were always there, but I resisted, thinking everything would be okay, he’s just a little behind. And as it turns out, everything is just fine.

Nevertheless, the diagnosis was life changing.

It changed the way we approached and did things. It affected every day life for us. And at first, it was difficult, and hard for me to understand. I blamed myself in every creative way I could come up with. I wondered what I did. I made it all about myself. I made a lot of mistakes.

But now that I look back, it’s absolutely fine. He’s absolutely perfect. He’s different. But he’s possibly the happiest person I’ve ever encountered.

Soon after the diagnosis, he got some help. Some wonderful teachers. They showed him how to better communicate, which really was an issue. They showed me how to better understand and communicate, which really was the main issue. Once we understood each other, life changed. Dramatically. For the better.

Okay, so life isn’t taking us down the usual path. We’re going to take a different journey, but that doesn’t mean life has to be any less fulfilling.

And we’ve taken that path, pretty much just me and my son. Everything in his world, in his words, is “daddy and Johnny”. Every step we take, is just the two of us.

Yes, he talks. He communicates. He understands. He feels. But every one of those things is a challenge for him. Sometimes a seemingly insurmountable challenge. A challenge for both of us. Because we’ll be doing this together, daddy and Johnny, for as long as my heart continues to beat.