
Rita's Interview on Lynn McLaughlin’s "Taking the Helm"
Join Rita Miceli as she shares her personal journey raising her autistic son Giaci, from early concerns and delayed diagnoses to embracing unexpected joys and community. Discover how a viral TikTok sparked a supportive community of over 600,000 followers, inspired her award-winning memoir, and opened vital conversations about autism awareness, early intervention, ABA therapy, and groundbreaking research.

Raising my son, Giaci
Raising a child with Autism was not what I imagined for myself when I walked down the aisle over 27 years ago. The thought had never crossed my mind that the children of two well-educated people would be anything other than above average. And, at first, it seemed as though it would be that way. We were blessed to have had four children, all within three and a half years of age; my oldest daughter, Lauren, my son, Giaci and then twin daughters, Carolina and Maria Rosa. For the first year and a half of my son’s life, everything seemed fine. He met all his developmental marks on time or before, but by the time he was two, it became apparent that something had gone horribly wrong.