My name is Myriam Wilkes. I am the mother of an autistic boy, a NICU baby, and two girls.  I am in the process of getting my Master of Science in Education Degree in special education with an emphasis on autism spectrum disorder at the University of Kansas (Rock chalk, Jayhawk!). My undergraduate is in Business Administration and graduate degree in Government from Pennsylvania State University (WE ARE!). 

After receiving a diagnosis for my son at 21 months old, I changed path and focused on learning about autism. I was amazed at how much knowledge there was, but a little disappointed that there was no clear guidance for parents of newly diagnosed autistic children. When parents receive an autism diagnosis, it feels that the world is crumbling down at their feet because autism is a lonely and demanding journey. However, it is not a journey without hope. Once I realized that my son's diagnosis was not about me, rather, about him, it changed both my perspective and my approach. I started looking into early intervention and services for him. I had realized that no matter how difficult my life was going to be with dealing with something I had no experience with, it was going to be a lot harder for him if I didn't provide him with the support he needed.   

After the diagnosis, we started doing Speech Language Pathology, Occupational Therapy (Sensory Integration), Early Intervention, and Play-Based Therapy. I learned how to play with him by taking an eight-week course on The Early Start Denver Model as well as using Greenspan Floor-time Therapy. Although the latter is not an Evidence-Based Practice (EBP), he seemed to have benefitted from it. We did not use an EBP like Applied Behavior Analysis, however, I was unknowingly using Pivotal Response Treatment (PRT) which is a naturalistic form of ABA.

For the past four years, my son has been consistently making progress through the use of different interventions. He is speaking, playing with his sisters and kids his age, doing well academically, and gaining independence. More importantly, he is developing like typical peers. Although he is still autistic, he is learning to navigate a world that is designed by neurotypical people without any consideration for people that are different, and autism is all about being different.