Most people know Thomas Sowell from his political writing. I came by Thomas Sowell differently: My kids didn’t start talking until they were well past the age of three. During those non-verbal months, plenty of parents, teachers, doctors, and others suggested my twins were autistic. Sowell’s book, Late Talking Children, was a reasoned counterpoint to that suggestion, not to mention my lifeline to sanity.

This lengthy post (and it IS lengthy!) is for any parents or grandparents with little ones that don’t hit their growth milestones on time, raising the question of autism. I sincerely hope it helps.

My twins were born in 2001. At 36 weeks, they weren’t too premature, but they were small and had to spend time in neonatal intensive care gaining strength. In those first weeks, my husband and I were stressed but overjoyed, especially since we had struggled to conceive.