Poster Name:
Liam’s Mom

Hi fam, posting about my boy Liam. He got autism and some learning disabilities. Hes 14. He can’t talk much, mostly just sounds and pointing.

Condition:
Autism with Co-occurring Intellectual Disability (Non-Verbal Communication)

Effect on People Involved:
It was real hard at first. We didn’t know what he wanted. He would scream and hit his head cuz we couldn’t understand. It hurt me bad to see him so frustrated. We had no peace. My husband was ready to give up on public outings cuz it was too much noise and trouble.

Problems Solved:
We got him a talker app on his tablet. Its got pictures and he can press them to tell us stuff. Like ‘I need water’ or ‘I want quiet’. It ain’t perfect, the tablet is expensive and sometimes he throws it, but he can communicate better. He also loves swimming. The pressure helps him calm down. That solved the worst of the hitting. We learned to read his body language better.

Ongoing Challenges:
Getting good support in school is a fight every year. They wanna put him in classrooms that are too loud and too big. Also, finding things for him to do when he’s not at school is hard. Finding safe places where people don’t judge him is always a struggle. But we keep trying. He’s a happy boy most of the time, and thats what matters.”