When my husband David and I were gearing up to be parents, we had high hopes for the future?neither of us had faced significant adversity in our lives and naively assumed our children?s lives would mirror the same successful pattern as ours?but we had on rose-colored glasses. Finding out that we had two children with multiple, complex mental health and neurodevelopmental disorders, including a son with autism, turned our lives upside down.

It sent us on a rollercoaster journey, which still affects us today. But through the struggles, there have been bright moments that taught us important life lessons about parenting our children. When it comes to caring for autistic children, we can face seemingly endless highs and lows. To help ease the journey, here are two key insights from my book, Hold on Tight: Trust your gut
Remember: you know your child better than anyone else. If you think something is wrong, it most likely is. While it's important to listen to health care, parenting and education experts, if what they say doesn?t resonate with you, keep looking.

David and I learned that many doctors aren't trained or qualified to deal with autism and neurodevelopmental disorders. When our son Andrew was a baby, he cried excessively, flapped his arms and had difficulty maintaining eye contact. Our instincts told us that something wasn?t right?we stayed up all hours talking about it. We read a myriad of parenting books and consulted our doctor, but he kept discounting our concern...