Don’t think that there’s a different, better child ‘hiding’ behind the autism. This is your child. Love the child in front of you. Encourage his strengths, celebrate his quirks, and improve his weaknesses, the way you would with any child. You may have to work harder on some of this, but that’s the goal.
~Claire Scovell LaZebnik

Much of our world works with a cause an effect model. Because I threw this rock inside I broke the lamp. Because I hit her in the face, she hit me back. Because I ate this week old sandwich I am now sick. This is also true about autism. Many conversations when talking about autism not only focus on the child, but also their families.  Having a child who is autistic can in many ways reshape the lives of the entire family. Speaking form my own experiences, my cousin knows her son like the back of her hand, so she knows his triggers that can cause him to have  a tantrum. So if that means avoiding a certain color for that week, or only eating chicken nuggets for a month or whatever the case may be, her and her family try and support my little cousin the best way they can.

The following videos are of parents talking about their experiences with their autistic children. The first is a PSA(Public service announcement) to raise parent awareness around autism. There are several like it created by Autism Speaks.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5tnq1iRjfvY

Video 2 (*) This video talks about the difficulty a family had with their son who had autism when he stopped talking. The clip shows how a father had to change the way he interacted with his son (quiet literally) in order to get his son to talk with him.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWPv11vqdio

Video 3 (*) This last video shows how autism can effect siblings within the family as well. Created by a young man who has autism, the video talks about his relationship with his brother, both positive and negative, and how despite everything he never looks at his brother differently.