Written from lived experience with Brielle — diagnosed Autism Level 2 at age 2 years 8 months. Every tool, every resource, every recommendation was tested in real life, with a real child, by a family who refused to put a ceiling on what she could become.
This guide is based on our family's lived experience supporting our granddaughter Brielle. It is intended for informational purposes only and should not replace medical, developmental, therapeutic, nutritional, or educational guidance from qualified professionals.
Contact your school district's Special Education department the same week you receive a diagnosis — even if your child is 18 months old. Do not wait until they turn 3. The evaluation process takes months. Services begin at age 3 but the paperwork clock starts the day you submit your written request. Every month you wait is a month of free services your child is not receiving.
Call today. Say: "I am requesting a special education evaluation for my child in writing."
"The diagnosis is not the destination. It is the beginning of a roadmap. The first thing you need to know is that your child is still exactly who they were the day before. The second thing you need to know is that you have more tools available than anyone has told you yet. This guide is where we start."
Your gut is a diagnostic tool. If something feels different — not wrong, just different — trust it. You don't need a diagnosis to start therapy. Request a speech and occupational therapy evaluation from your pediatrician the moment you notice anything.
In our experience, early intervention made a profound difference.
Lollie noticed something at birth — nothing she could name, just a feeling. By 15 months Brielle was in speech and occupational therapy. The diagnosis came at 2 years 8 months. The work had already been happening for over a year.
A clinical diagnosis comes from a developmental pediatrician or psychologist. A school district diagnosis comes from the IEP evaluation team. They serve different purposes and open different doors. One does not replace the other.
Find a functional medicine doctor and request comprehensive bloodwork and a hair follicle test for heavy metals. What they find will be specific to your child — not a general autism protocol. Every child's nutritional needs are different.
We noticed nutrition had a significant impact on Brielle's mood, sleep, regulation, and overall well-being. Real food, fresh fruit, and reducing processed sugar made a noticeable difference for her.
MTHFR gene mutation. Low magnesium, zinc, Vitamin D, and Vitamin K. Her functional medicine doctor built a supplement protocol specific to her bloodwork. Magnesium was a game changer for sleep. Always work with a doctor — never supplement without testing first.
If your child is not yet verbal or is minimally verbal, ask your speech therapist about AAC — Augmentative and Alternative Communication. Proloquo is one of the most powerful AAC apps available. It allows children to build sentences by selecting words and images.
If you use an iPad for AAC, use it for AAC only. The moment it becomes an entertainment device — YouTube, streaming, games — you will create dependency and dysregulation that is very hard to walk back. The iPad is a communication tool. Not a screen.
At 2 years 3 months she walked to her communication card set, pulled out the strawberry card, and brought it to us. She knew exactly what she wanted. She just needed the right tool to say it. Proloquo later gave her full sentences — "frustrated, park, frustrated, park" when she wanted to leave. She was communicating a complete thought at two years old.
These tools work. We know because we started them before there was ever a diagnosis and we use them to this day.
In through the nose, out with a big slow sigh. Two minutes. It grows with them and becomes a lifelong regulation anchor.
"You feel frustrated. I see you." Don't wait for them to identify it. Say it for them. You are building vocabulary in real time.
When Brielle began hitting her head we redirected her to pat her hands gently on her lap instead. Replace the behavior — don't just stop it.
Epsom salts in a warm bath. Magnesium absorbs through the skin. Water can help regulate the nervous system. For Brielle, it consistently helped calm her nervous system.
The steady rhythm anchors the nervous system and signals rest. We started this when Brielle was a baby. To this day — "do you want your music?" — and she's asleep within minutes.
For Brielle, outdoor time became an essential part of regulation. Fresh air, open space, and natural sensory input made a noticeable difference in how her nervous system settled throughout the day. For our family, making it a daily rhythm changed everything.
Takes Brielle to the park every single day. Sometimes twice. Rain or shine. It is not a reward. It is part of how Brielle's nervous system stays regulated. The outdoor time makes everything else easier.
Don't redirect special interests. Don't tidy up their arrangements. Don't substitute what they love with what you think they should love. Celebrate it. Build it a shelf.
Include them in everything — shopping, decisions, daily life. Ask their opinion and wait for the answer. "Which one do you like better?" You are not just shopping. You are teaching them that their voice matters.
Brielle loves sports cars — Porsches, Corvettes. Her Pop Pop Alan is building her a shelf made from a bicycle tire rim with wood shelves and LED lighting to display her entire collection. Because her interests deserve to be honored, not managed.
Transitions, cleanup time, following instructions — these can all be hard. Make them joyful. Sing about it. Clap. Give a high five when they follow through. Celebrate every single win no matter how small.
When compliance feels like celebration, they choose it.
Take them to movies. Restaurants. Fabric stores. HomeGoods. On planes. On cruises. To Disney. When it gets hard — find a quiet space, breathe together, name the feeling, love them through it. Then go back.
Every time you go back you teach them the world is safe and they can handle it. That lesson is worth every hard moment.
South Carolina, Turks & Caicos, Colorado, Oklahoma, Orlando / Disney, Miami, and two cruises to Mexico. She has never had a meltdown on a plane.
"One day she laid down on the sidewalk. So I laid down right next to her. I don't know what she saw from down there. But I know she looked over at me and knew — her world was worth seeing.
Get on their level. Literally. The view is different down there. And so is everything else."