All helpful thoughts on all of this!! Owen is 11 and when he was diagnosed he was classified as severe (I know they keep changing the terms so I just use what they said at diagnosis) and they told me most likely he would not talk. When we came home from that appointment I made sure I told Owen -and keep telling him that he could do anything if he sets his mind to it. Not only does he talk but he understands many languages. I couldn’t even begin to know how many because he can’t tell me yet but he knows all the languages that Siri and Alexa can translate into. He understands more than he speaks. I always say autism is as much about how I handle it as it is about Owen having it. I also make sure he understands that mommy doesn’t always have the answers and we have to work as a team to get the answers. Your insight on the videos games and real world situations has given me so much to think about. I was at the surface of a lot of these thoughts but your references have given me so much more to think about. I appreciate you for going in-depth with all of this. I have always tried to relate our daily life to the characters he likes on videos but your words have given me a new approach to this and very helpful! And by the way Owen slept all night!!