It wasn't about control of me over him, or him over me. It was something that we both had to get used to; Tal's mom is a person who does things that do not always relate to Tal.

When children are very young, they have a hard time seeing a different point of view than their own. Most young children seem like that for the first years of their lives. It takes a long time for them to realize their view of the world is different than others.'

This is a lesson for any person, any parent, but especially for parents with special children: Take good care of your health, not just the physical one, but the financial one.

What I would really like to tell you about is not my son's progress, but of the lessons I've learned from his experience.

As the parent of a child with autism, I discovered a peculiar thing: Many things that cause stress, or at least some annoyance, to other parents are causes for joy or at least satisfaction for me.

I cannot think of a better gift for the coming Jewish year than knowing that your child is a caring, helpful friend.

Not everything that happens is fixable, but what can be changed by sheer will power is the way you react to them.

While the knowledge and experience of professionals merits respect, parents should never forget the following: Parents know their children better than anyone else.

Tal has come a long way since he was 2. He's learned a lot, but so have I.

The concert gave me a fantastic memory to take along with me. But it didn't change my life; it just made it better for a few hours, maybe even days. And that's how life works.

I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. It was really quite comical, as if someone has written a very politically-incorrect skit for Saturday Night Live.

When you are crushed from the news, you need someone to share it with. You tell family. Some friends you really trust. But what about everyone else?

Working in a media outlet doesn't necessarily guarantee that you are surrounded by people with high communication skills and knowledge of the human psyche.

What my experience has taught me, especially in the first year after Tal was diagnosed, is that things that used to seem like big problems simply aren't any more.

I checked my email for the last time and found out that my editor wanted me to go to Greece to cover the elections there. The last time I left my son for more than a day was when he was 3 1/2.

Sometimes people choose to make life more difficult for themselves, even if they don't have to. They go looking for unnecessary challenges to heap on their plates, which are already quite full.

The journey from that black hole of despair into which I fell in the weeks after "the diagnosis," as many parents call that fateful moment in their lives, back into light, took years. It is still underway.