Our son, Noah, was born on April 16, 2021. Aside from severe morning sickness, my pregnancy was smooth, the delivery was flawless, and Noah was born perfectly healthy. We were thrilled to complete our family with our sweet little boy. 

The first year of his life was mostly "normal," aside from a few illnesses. At 3 months, Noah was hospitalized with RSV and battled chronic ear infections until we had tubes placed around his first birthday. 

But shortly after Noah's first birthday, I began to have concerns about his speech. He was babbling some, but not nearly as much as my other children had at that age, and he hadn't formed any words. We visited our pediatrician and his ENT multiple times, suspecting hearing loss might be contributing to his speech delay. However, after several appointments, we were left feeling lost, as nothing came of these concerns. 

By 18 months, Noah still wasn't speaking, and his babbling had significantly decreased. We were recommended to start therapy services through Early Childhood Intervention (ECI), so we began speech therapy right away. A few months later, right after Noah's second birthday, we also started speech therapy and occupational therapy at The Turn Center. We are beyond grateful for the therapists who have touched Noah's life and continue to support us. They've had a profound impact on our family and have given us hope during this heartbreaking time. 

Despite Noah's hard work and determination, his speech progress remained stagnant, leaving him essentially without a voice. After further discussions with our pediatrician, we decided to take Noah to Dallas for additional testing. Shortly after his third birthday, Noah was evaluated by a neuropsychologist in Fort Worth, and he was diagnosed with non-speaking autism. We were devastated, heartbroken—but also relieved to finally understand the cause of his speech delay. Although it's never easy to hear such a diagnosis for your child, it opened doors to more services. With this diagnosis, Noah became eligible for full-time ABA (applied behavior analysis) therapy, receiving 40 hours per week of one-on-one services. This has truly been a blessing for our family, and we've already seen remarkable improvement since starting in August 2024. 

Throughout this journey, we've faced many challenges. But one specific challenge stands out to us as parents: the lack of truly supportive spaces for children with special needs. While we are incredibly grateful for all-inclusive playgrounds and establishments that aim to be accepting, we found that these spaces weren't always set up to fully meet the needs of children like Noah. We often saw him retreating to a corner, covering his ears, and stimming due to sensory overload. What was meant to be a fun outing for our family ended in feelings of frustration, hopelessness and a painful reminder of our son's challenges.