This episode of the Autism Changemakers Podcast is one I have been waiting to record for a long time.
Yesterday, my 16-year-old son Rocco walked into his own IEP meeting and addressed his educational team directly using his letterboard. He looked around the room at the people who have worked with him and spelled: I am so grateful to all of you for helping me become the highest version of myself.
I used to leave IEP meetings in tears. Fighting for the most basic things he deserved. Feeling like the system had all the power and we had none. Yesterday was something else entirely.
In this episode I talk about:
What Rocco said in that room and what it felt like to watch my nonspeaking son sit at the head of the table like he belonged there, because he does.
Why this moment did not happen overnight, and what four years of slow, steady, cumulative progress in RPM and letterboard communication actually looks like from the inside.
What changed in the tone of the meeting when Rocco was in the room, and why systems respond differently when a nonspeaking child has a voice they can no longer ignore.
What Rocco has told us privately about wanting to earn a high school diploma and be held to a higher standard, and what it meant for him to finally tell his team that himself.
Why the road feels impossibly slow while you are walking it, and what I want every parent still waiting for their breakthrough to know today.
Rocco is not special because he is Rocco. He is special because he is human. And his story is simply evidence of what becomes possible when we presume competence, support communication, and refuse to give up.
Your child's story is still being written. Every single step matters.
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