Guilt. It's a common denominator in the lives of parents with autistic children.

We face guilt in the earliest of moments when we recognize something is not quite right. Did I not eat the right foods? Did I not sleep enough during pregnancy? What did I do wrong? Did I cause this?

We face guilt on the days when all we've done is think autism, autism, autism, and we've forgotten about the rest of the world. The world keeps spinning and yet it feels as if we don't. Stuck in the depths of grief and understanding, we emerge only to gasp for air before getting sucked back down under the waves.

We face guilt when our other children don't get the attention they need or the activities that they want to do. We struggle with balancing an equation that includes both a life with autism and a life of the neurotypical--with the scale almost always tipped toward the life with autism.

We face guilt when therapy has taken over every part of the day, every day. Guilt because therapy becomes intrusive and overwhelming and the clean house comes far second. Guilt because sometimes therapy becomes too much and we scale back--but always left wondering if we've done the right thing.

We face guilt when we think, 'Have I done enough?' or 'Could I have done more?' A lifetime left wondering if there was something else we could have done to help, to understand, to build skills and the promise of a better life.

We face guilt over the vacations lost, the jobs forgotten, the dreams changed and the priorities in life rearranged. The 'What Ifs' of life come crashing down around your ears.

Guilt is a part of grief. It's part of a natural cycle of understanding and acceptance. Guilt is a place we all must travel through, but hopefully a place we don't set up permanent residence in. Guilt is a challenge we must all endure and overcome in order to reach the next step, and the next and the next. Move past guilt and move toward hope. Remember that on The Guilt Trip, the next exit is Hope.