'My Son Is Autistic—The Pandemic Has Separated Us for 4 Months'

Izzo, Giovanna. July 31, 2020. My Son Is Autistic -- The Pandemic Has Separated Us for 4 Months. Newsweek. All views expressed in this piece are the writer's own. As told to Jenny Haward.

"My son Antonio is 25-years-old and moved into his group home at the age of 21. Even though that was his new place to live, we always made sure that he knew that the family home here in Miami, Florida was still his home as well, and that we were still his family. We would pick him up every weekend to bring him to the family home so that we could all spend time together.

Antonio is autistic and has comorbid psychiatric disorders such as psychosis and anxiety, for which he takes medications. After he graduated from high school it was hard to keep him in a routine and to keep him safe.

He loves public transport and has memorized all the train stations, bus numbers and their respective routes. One night, my husband Alec and I received a call at 4am from the police station in Homestead, which is around an hour away from our home. An officer explained that Antonio had arrived at the station because he was lost. It took us completely by surprise as we didn't know Antonio had even left our house."

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