Turning Over Every Rock

Before autism was a word we used in our house, there was just Odin.

When Christy Smith's grandson began losing the words he once had, she didn't know where the road ahead would lead. She only knew that if Odin needed something, she was going to find it.

Turning Over Every Rock is the deeply personal story of a Nana raising her autistic grandson-and learning, one question, one setback, and one hard-won answer at a time, how to become the advocate he needed.

From Early Intervention, speech therapy and AAC to IEP meetings, medical scares, medication decisions and the everyday work of trying to understand what a child is communicating when words don't tell the whole story, Christy shares the parts of caregiving that rarely fit neatly into a checklist. There are victories here, but there is also exhaustion, fear, uncertainty, laughter, love and the constant question that has followed her through Odin's life: What am I missing?

This isn't a story about fixing autism or changing Odin into someone else. It's about learning to meet him where he is, making room for who he already is, and discovering just how much a caregiver's voice matters.

Christy doesn't have all the answers. She never pretends to. She simply keeps asking questions, opening doors and turning over rocks.

Because when you love someone this much, sometimes that's what you do.