Ran into a lovely parent I’ve known for years yesterday as my sons were on their usual Friday purchase-pizza practice.  (their reward for volunteering at the public library).
She mentioned that her son, just days younger than my sons, has been in a residential placement since last fall.

Wow.  That’s all I can say.  I haven’t gotten done processing it.  He’s only the 2nd peer I’ve known to go residential right now – the other child unfortunately hit a troubled, violent patch with his mom where there was no other choice.  Interestingly this boy was someone I’d always considered much higher functioning than mine – more social, more engaged, with different but (I guess to me) less problematic behaviors.

It’s happening – the autism generation, that blip on the charts where there are so many kids with autism, are starting to move out of the family home and onward to their next destinations.  I have lots of feelings on the topic. Too many to process in the few remaining moments before it’s time for showers and pre-speech therapy activities to start.

When do we know when – when is best – and how do we as parents do that real letting go
that comes with fleeing the nest?

And how can we ever trust that their next nest is as loving, supporting and appropriate as
the one I so carefully build and cultivate for them?