The Personal Site of Dan Masters

Autism – Putting this Out There

I have an autistic son who is now an adult. There are many things I have learned about him and myself during the journey of raising him that I believe might help others raising their autistic children. Specifically, the dads out there need a lot of help (as I did), so I want to create a place where they can find various stories, experiences, and references. This is that place.

I belong to a few online forums and groups for parents of autistic children, and it seems that the questions and fears are generally the same. I hope I can help bring some peace and direction to these parents to help them succeed and not struggle as much as I have.

These are my personal experiences. I have not gotten everything right and have made several mistakes over the years. By sharing these things, I hope whoever reads them can avoid these pitfalls, find their own path to learn from, and then share their knowledge.

The autism community is filled with parents who love their children immensely, as I do. At the same time, most of these parents are overwhelmed by the initial diagnosis and the subsequent treatments and challenges of raising their autistic child. It can be hard to enjoy raising your child when you are so concerned with what their future will look like.

The good news is there is a better community, medicine, and treatments now than when we began this journey back in 2009. I hope I can share some of those things and my experiences with them to help parents, specifically the dads, trying to be the father their kids need.