What Autism Level 1 Parenting Really Looks Like
Most people hear autism level 1 and think they know what that means. They picture a kid who is mostly fine. A kid who maybe just needs a little extra support here and there. A kid whose family is probably doing okay.
Brandon Shaw would like a word.
Brandon is an autism dad from Orlando, Florida, and his seven-year-old son Mason is diagnosed autism level 1. But as Brandon explains in this episode of Seen and Heard, Mason regularly teeters between level 1 and level 2 depending on environment, stress, and what the day throws at him. The label is a starting point, not the whole story. And the story, when Brandon tells it, is one that a lot of autism families are going to recognize immediately.
This is the second episode of Seen and Heard, the new interview series from The Autism Dad Podcast where real autism families share a glimpse into their real lives. No filters. No scripts. Just their truth in their own words.
Fighting for the Diagnosis
Before Brandon and his wife Alyssa could do anything to help Mason, they had to convince the medical system that something needed to be addressed. Two separate pediatricians turned them away. Two times they were told that what they were seeing, what they knew in their gut, did not warrant further investigation.
They kept pushing. Eventually they got in front of a pediatric neurologist who ran the testing and confirmed what Brandon and Alyssa already knew. Mason was autistic.
And then the appointment ended. No pamphlet. No next steps. No guide to what comes next. Just a diagnosis and the door.
This experience is so common in the autism community that it has almost become a shared language among parents. The fight to be heard. The relief of finally having a name for what you are seeing. The silence that follows. Brandon describes it clearly and without bitterness, just the plain truth of what it was like. And from that day forward, he says, he and Alyssa did everything they could to learn and to support Mason the best way they knew how.
There was no pamphlet, no directions, no step by step guide. It was basically, here is your diagnosis, have a good day.
What Level 1 Autism Actually Looks Like Day to Day
Mason can script the first 30 minutes of Coco from memory. Word for word, scene for scene, like he has the script in front of him. He loves Disney. He loves Pixar. He is in first grade in a mainstream classroom, wearing his noise-canceling headphones every day, pulling out for support when he needs it, and by all accounts thriving in a way that his pre-K teachers might not have predicted.
He also needs reminders to go to the bathroom. Help washing his hands. Support getting dressed. He has a sensitivity to crying that made the first two years of his younger brother Hunter's life genuinely chaotic, to the point where Brandon and Alyssa were not sure they could keep both boys under the same roof at the same time.
That is what autism level 1 can look like. Remarkable ability sitting right next to significant need. A kid who blows you away and also needs you completely, sometimes in the same five minutes.
Brandon does not frame this as a tragedy. He frames it as his life, one that he would not trade, and one that has taught him to pay attention to things he never would have noticed before.
The School Battle Most Autism Parents Know Too Well
Mason started out in an autism-specific pre-K program. His team recommended transitioning him to a mainstream classroom, and that is where he has been ever since, through kindergarten and into first grade. His classmates know him. They know he wears headphones because loud noises bother him. They do not make it weird. Brandon gets emotional talking about birthday parties where the other kids have started whispering the birthday song so Mason does not have to put his headphones on. That kind of inclusion, when it happens, means everything.
But inclusion is not guaranteed. And it does not maintain itself.
Mason's principal witnessed one meltdown, on one day, and decided Mason did not belong in the mainstream classroom. One data point. One bad day. Brandon and Alyssa had to fight to keep him there. They pushed back, presented the full picture, and won. Mason is still in that classroom. But it required advocacy, persistence, and the willingness to be the loudest voice in the room for their child's right to belong.
This is something Rob has said many times on this podcast and something Brandon's story confirms: having an IEP is not enough. You have to be willing to use it, defend it, and sometimes fight for it.
We had to fight tooth and nail. And that is just the reality of it.
Celebrating the Wins That Actually Matter
Rob asked Brandon about recent wins. It is one of the questions he asks every Seen and Heard guest, and the answers are always the ones that hit hardest.
Brandon lit up.
Mason started answering how his school day went. That might not sound like much to someone outside the autism community. But for parents of nonverbal or minimally verbal kids, or kids who simply do not process and communicate the way neurotypical kids do, that question, how was your day, can go unanswered for years. It went unanswered for a long time in the Shaw house. Now it does not.
Mason goes to the bathroom by himself. He sits down to work on his writing for homework. He went on a Disney ride with a friend's parent without needing Brandon or Alyssa right there.
And then there is the catch story.
Before you have kids, especially a boy, you have ideas about what you are going to do together. Playing catch is one of those ideas. For a lot of autism parents, those ideas quietly get revised or released. Brandon had released that one. And then this week, Mason picked up a glove and asked his dad to play catch.
Brandon almost cried telling it. You will almost cry hearing it.
Not everything is doom and gloom. We are doing hard things, we are making growth and development, and we have to remind ourselves of that.
What Brandon Wants the World to Understand
Rob asked Brandon what he wishes people outside the autism community understood about Mason. Brandon's answer was bigger than Mason.
He wants people to understand that being different is not a bad thing. That autism is not a punchline or a stereotype. That you can ask about Mason, you can ask what he likes and what makes him happy, and that is so much better than assuming or avoiding. He wants people to understand that when Mason jumps it is because he is happy. That when he laughs at full volume it is because he is really into something. That these are not problems to be managed. They are Mason being Mason.
He also talked about the stigma that still follows autism in 2026, even as more and more public figures have spoken openly about being on the spectrum or having kids on the spectrum. Brandon hopes that by the time Mason is older, that stigma is gone or at least so much smaller that it does not shape how people treat him.
A Message for the Autism Community
The question Rob asked that Brandon answered most carefully was about the autism community itself. What does he wish other autism families understood?
His answer was about unity. He talked about how advocacy and autism parenting are team sports. He said he wants to embrace other families the way he hopes they will embrace his. He wants what is best for other kids and hopes other families want the same for Mason. And he said clearly that none of us move forward if we stay divided, if we spend our energy judging each other or assuming that someone else does not understand because their experience looks different.
It is a message that Rob echoes constantly on this show, and hearing it from a dad who is three and a half years into his diagnosis journey makes it land in a different way. He has not been doing this forever. He is still figuring it out. And he is already showing up for the community.
Show Notes
Listen to This Episode
This Is What Level 1 Autism Parenting Can Look Like | Brandon Shaw (S9E02) is available now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and at listen.theautismdad.com.
About Brandon Shaw
Brandon Shaw is an autism dad living in Orlando, Florida with his wife Alyssa and their two sons, Mason, age seven, and Hunter, who is nearly three. Mason was diagnosed as autistic around age three and a half after his family fought to be heard by multiple doctors. Since diagnosis, Brandon and Alyssa have dedicated themselves to learning, advocating, and celebrating every step of Mason's journey. Brandon is passionate about breaking autism stigmas, building community, and reminding other parents that they are not alone.
About Rob Gorski
Rob Gorski is the founder of The Autism Dad, a blog and podcast dedicated to supporting parents raising kids on the autism spectrum. As a dad of three autistic sons with over 25 years of experience, Rob brings lived experience, honesty, and heart to every conversation.
What You Will Hear in This Episode
How Brandon and Alyssa fought for Mason's diagnosis after being turned away by two pediatricians
Why there was no guidance after diagnosis and how they figured it out on their own
The daily challenges of raising two young brothers with different needs and sensory profiles
Mason's journey from an autism-specific pre-K unit to a mainstream first-grade classroom
Why Brandon almost broke down when Mason grabbed a baseball glove and asked to play catch
What Brandon wishes the outside world understood about Mason and autistic people everywhere
Why Brandon believes the autism community is stronger together and what that means in practice
Resources Mentioned
Noise-canceling headphones for sensory regulation
IEP resources: understood.org or wrightslaw.com
Autism Society resources: autismsociety.org
Special needs sports leagues: search for options near you
Disney accessibility: disneyworld.disney.go.com/guest-services/disability-access-service
This Episode Is Brought to You By
Mightier is a clinically proven app designed to help kids build emotional regulation skills through biofeedback-based video games. It meets kids where they are and gives parents real tools to support them at home. Visit mightier.com and use code theautismdad22 for 10% off.
Find the Show
The Autism Dad Podcast is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, and at listen.theautismdad.com. You can find Rob at theautismdad.com and on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok at The Autism Dad.
