Thanks for writing. Please know that most of us have gone through many of the same things you are going through now. There are a lot of people who understand and who will help you. Writing people is a way of reaching out for help, and this is how things can start to get better.

At the beginning, it feels awful. That was the worst time for us. But it slowly gets better. You’ll start learning more. You’ll start connecting with other parents who have been where you are now, and they will help you. You’ll start finding the kinds of services you and your child need.

If there is any advice I can give, it’s to take things one step at a time. This is hard to do when all you can think about is everything you and your child are going to have to face in the future. This is how I felt at first. When I started being able to worry less about the future and give my attention to what’s going on right now, things started getting a little better.

Try to sit down and say to yourself, “what’s the next step I need to take?” Just do that one thing, and don’t worry about anything else yet. Once you do that one thing, ask yourself again, “what’s the next step?” And then keep doing that. Taking it one step at a time is how it gets better and easier.

Let’s try this. If you are more comfortable writing in Spanish, we have a native Spanish speaker in our family (and one more who is trying to be) who I know would translate for me. Just send me an e-mail at tim@bothhandsandaflashlight.com.

Also, I don’t know anything about how services work in London, but we can find some people who do. I already asked Maddy, and there are others I can ask as well. This is how we help each other. We remember how others have helped us, and we want to help others in the same way.

I know this is very, very hard. But you can do it, and you will have the support of other parents to help get you there. All you have to do is keep doing what you did here – ask.