When a child is diagnosed with autism, your world stops. You wonder what just happened and what happens next. Feelings of despair overwhelm you and your family because everything changes. But it doesn't have to be that way. You are not alone in this journey and while the method by which you reach your destination has changed, you can still get there. You can't lose sight of your entire families' impact, the child with autism, siblings, parents, grandparents, and caregivers. It is easy to become consumed and narrow your worldview rather than expanding it. Let me focus for a minute on the immediate family. All siblings will need parents' love and attention, more so than ever. But whether a single parent or not, you must take care of yourself first. When flying on an airplane, you are instructed that if the plane loses altitude, face masks filled with oxygen will drop down. Further, place the masks on yourself first otherwise you will not be able to help your loved ones. Parents must take care of yourselves first in order to be of any use to your family. This is critical and I will help you. But it's not easy. As a single parent raising 2 young children, one with autism, in the beginning I only saw darkness. Once while grocery shopping I stopped my cart and literally threw my hands up in the air wondering where I was going to find the strength to make it through another day. But I had to. For my kids. I remember visiting my mother with the kids and while saying good-bye I began sobbing, asking my mom why this was happening. And then I realized that I had to change the script in which I was the star. I will share with you how I transformed the darkness into light. And how you can too.