So, have you had it yet?  You know, the conversation with your child on the spectrum.  No, not that one.  Not the one that you tell them they have autism.  Nope, not that one at all.

I’m talking about the one where you talk to them about it and get their feedback.  This doesn’t even have to be verbal feedback.  A look can tell you a lot.  Especially when you know how to read your child and their looks and reactions.  But if they’re verbal, it can be that too.  And this isn’t a one time conversation either.  This is one that can take place again and again, morphing itself into different questions and sometimes, on any given day, different reactions based on situations, varying factors, etc.

Communication is important to any family functioning optimally.  And families with autism are no different there, although the forms of communication itself can be different, the importance is still the same.  This is what one of the recent conversations surrounding autism looked like in our house:

Me: “Justin, what do you think of your autism?”

Justin: “It makes me smarter. It helps me know things.”

Me: “Do you think God gave you to me for a reason?”

Justin: “Yes!”

Me: “Oh yeah? What reason is that?”

Justin: “Because you’d love me.”

That’s how our night ended just a few days ago.  A simple conversation.  Short in nature, but boy did it speak volumes to my heart.

So have you had the conversation yet?  If so, what has it looked like?  And I started talking to Justin about these things before he could talk.  Before he could answer back.  And even then, his eyes, the look on his face, spoke volumes to my heart.

So have the conversations.  And if you don’t mind sharing, let us know what they look like in the comments below.