Getting the diagnosis is hard. Getting the right help is harder.

Kevin’s story lays out the maze families face after an autism diagnosis - early intervention, speech therapy, ABA, and occupational therapy - and the exhausting question underneath all of it: how do you get real support without losing your child’s childhood? Kevin shares the moment-by-moment reality of building a care plan for his son, from learning an entirely new vocabulary of IFSPs, regional centers, and AAC, to figuring out what actually helps in the middle of meltdowns, transitions, and self-injury. He breaks down the therapies that shaped their journey, what each one looked like in practice, and why play turned out to be the work.

You’ll discover:

• Why early intervention started with play, not flashcards
• How sign language, narration, timers, and front-loading became everyday tools
• What changed when speech therapy, ABA, and school supports entered the picture
• Why the “right” provider matters as much as the right service
• How AAC, scripting, and growing language can all coexist

Kevin also gets honest about the parts families don’t talk about enough - waitlists, billing surprises, providers that don’t fit, and the pressure to fill every hour with therapy. If you’re trying to decide what’s enough, what’s too much, or how to keep your child from becoming a schedule, this episode speaks directly to that tension. Most importantly, Kevin shows how therapy didn’t just teach his son communication and daily living skills. It taught the whole family how to listen better, advocate harder, and recognize progress in the small moments that matter most. Essential listening for parents in the early autism journey, and for anyone who wants to understand what support really looks like after the diagnosis.