Your son, Alex, which is five, has autism. He uses diapers. He is nonverbal. Meaning, he tries to communicate physically and not verbally. And even if he does communicate verbally, it’s mostly just hums of his stimming.

You were at your desk, on your computer, when you feel tugging on your shirt. You look down to see Alex, looking up at you with his plushie in his hands. He rubbed his belly signaling he was hungry. He didn’t know much physical communication but tried his best. He then started running and jumping around, making giggling noises.