For Ten Years, My Best Friend Took My Autistic Son to the Same Little Diner and Lied About Why. On His Eighteenth Birthday, a Waitress Told Me the Secret That Changed Everything I Thought I Knew About Him..105

Privacy.

Not secrecy.

Privacy.

There is a difference.

During one panel, a woman asked Mason what parents of autistic children should understand.

I tensed.

Hannah whispered, “Breathe.”

“I am breathing.”

“Not convincingly.”

Mason considered the question.

Then said:

“Your child is a person when you are not looking.”

The room went still.

He continued.

“They have thoughts you do not know. Things they are good at that you do not see. Things they are bad at that you also might not see.”

A few people laughed.

“They need help. Sometimes a lot of help. But help and control are different.”

My eyes filled.

Mason looked directly at me.

Then added:

“My mother helped me a lot.”

I smiled through tears.

“She also asks too many questions.”

The room laughed.