To My Son's Autism Therapists

By Rebecca Smith Masterson, contributor to The Blog on The Huffington Post website and author of the blog, Sincerely, Becca

Hi Therapists,

I feel like I know you all pretty well now. You've been in my home with my son for almost a year. Four, five, six days a week, you're here. You've seen me in my pajamas, watched me do laundry and cook dinner. I spend more time with you than I do with my friends or family. We chat, I sit and listen to the sessions, I ask questions.

But mostly, I watch. I watch you and my son, and I try to soak up what you're doing, gauge what works and what doesn't. This is your job, but this is very, very personal to me.

I know you went through a lot of training for this job. Some of you have advanced degrees and letters after your names. You speak in acronyms, take data, and analyze my son's behaviors. You are competent and knowledgeable and educated. You are able to develop lesson plans, implement them in effective ways, and move my son from skill to skill. You are really good at your job.

But I wonder if you know what it's like to be me. I wonder if you have given any thought to what it is like to parent these children you work with every day.

. . . .

To finish reading the full story, visit The Huffington Post: Parents website: http://huff.to/13HB0mJ.

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