We were warned, and we pretty much listened. When my son Evan got his diagnosis in 2007, we didn’t Google “autism.” Our most relied-on sources of information included doctors, books and other parents.

When friends said they had an uncle’s brother’s cousin’s neighbor’s son who had autism and we could talk to them, we did. Eight years ago it seemed a little harder to find someone on the spectrum. Now it seems like everyone knows at least one person with autism.