Reality Check..

So today I got a glimpse of what it is like to (attempt to) take care of and keep safe a severely affected non-verbal child with autism.

This child is a beautiful young man of about Salamander's age. And when I looked into his eyes today, there was so much going on inside that head that just can't come out. And to see the deep sadness in his eyes and to watch the agony in his behaviors when he just could not communicate his needs, it broke my heart in a million pieces...

While things do get rough here, my daily zoo is a walk in the park compared to that...I am counting my lucky stars that Salamander by now is only 'mildly affected', I really do....