Life with Autism

For a long time, Eden was our easy child. She has always been that way. Helpful, older than her age, mature, loved by adults and other kids alike. Responsible, maybe a little short on attention, but compliant and loving, and fiercely loyal to her parents and her siblings. She made friends quickly and was independent. When we were busy taking care of her siblings, she could essentially take care of herself. It took us a while to realize this wasn't all personality. Part of it

We don't stay in mainstream RV parks. Not because we're purists or minimalists or trying to prove something about how we travel. We don't stay in them because they don't work for our son. Hyrum has autism and PDA, and the things that make a typical RV park appealing to most families, playgrounds, clubhouses, pools, neighbors close enough to borrow a cup of sugar from, are the very things that make them impossible for him. He needs space. He needs quiet. He needs the freedom t

We spent years trying to fix what we thought was broken. ABA therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, alternative medicine, consultations with specialists across the country, even a center in Israel that claimed they could help the most challenging cases. We were told if we started early enough, if we committed fully enough, Hyrum would be ready for mainstream kindergarten. But every therapy failed. Not because we did not try hard enough, or because the therapists were

We have now been one year on the road with our family. It's hard to believe 12 months have passed by since we left our old dream home in Utah. We thought we understood what this life would look like and what our son with autism and PDA needed. We were wrong about almost everything. But somehow, being wrong led us exactly where we needed to be. What We Didn't See Coming The RV life wasn't even our original plan. We knew our son needed novelty in his environment. We also knew t

Our nomadic life with autism isn't the glossy RV life most people imagine. It's the dirt that never leaves the floor or the couch, the frogs and snakes our boy brings inside, and the slimy fish hands that somehow end up on everything in the fridge. It's the meltdowns that ring in our ears, the scratches and bites we work through, and a mama who gives everything she has while a dad tries to keep it all together. Most of all, it's a little boy fighting a body he can't fully con

Parenting a child with PDA and autism was not something we set out to learn, but it became our reality when nothing else worked. Our son, Hyrum, is 8 years old. We've known he was autistic since just after his second birthday. Brittney sensed early signs and pushed for testing. Some doctors later told her how rare it was to recognize these traits so early. This story was also featured by KSL. If you're new here, this story is part of a larger journey. You can start with how r

Parenting an autistic child often means learning that time does not work the way you expect it to. My birthday was January 20th. A few days later, the fixation started. Hyrum had been looking at pictures of mosasauruses, drawing them, asking to see them in books, completely absorbed in these massive prehistoric marine reptiles. At some point, he decided he wanted a toy mosasaurus. We said sure, we could get one for his birthday. His birthday is in late March, nearly two month

When traveling with an autistic child, sometimes we're tucked away in total solitude, and other times we share space with fellow campers, a dumpster, a trail, or just the same view. In those moments, a simple introduction has been invaluable. Whether it's to the facility office, the camp host, or even a visitor center, we introduce ourselves with a flyer that includes our phone numbers and a picture of our autistic son. It sets the stage for understanding and safety. Before w

We started out as your average American family of five. We were excited to start a family, buy a home, raise our kids, and build a business. And for the first twelve years of our marriage, we did just that. But something wasn't working. Most of life looked good on paper, and most of it worked for most of us. But one of our kids didn't fit the mold, and as time went on, caring for our autistic child became harder and harder. We spent years searching for answers, sitting in off