My nonverbal son is 18 now. If you’re scared to send yours to school, I get it.
By Real Ray C on
I still remember dropping my nonverbal son off for kindergarten. His backpack looked huge on him. I got back in the car and cried.
It wasn’t about academics. It was the fact that he couldn’t tell me about his day. He couldn’t say if he was scared, overwhelmed, hungry, or misunderstood. At home, I knew his cues. I knew when pacing meant anxiety and when shutting down meant overload. At school, I had to trust strangers to learn his language.
Not everyone did at first. There were hard days. On days he came home dysregulated, and I had to piece it together. Days I questioned everything.
But he grew.
He found teachers who taught him. A para who advocated for him. Classmates who accepted him. He became more confident with his communication device. More independent than I ever imagined.
He’s 18 now. Still nonverbal. Still needs support. But he walks into rooms with a quiet strength that humbles me.
If you’re terrified because your child can’t tell you about their day, that fear is real. I lived in it for years. But they are more resilient than we think. And so are we.
It won’t be perfect. But it can be okay.