[greatquux]

Exactly. I also have a 6-year old child with severe autism. He's a really happy and playful child, he actually makes good eye contact, especially when having fun, enjoys hiking and swimming, and loves affection. But he simply cannot communicate effectively, either with words (which is a mixture of jargon and echolalia, though he's definitely starting to read words!) or an AAC device. He has great balance and likes climbing and playing on playgrounds, but he can't tie his shoes or use a pencil/pen or a lot of other fine-motor skills. If there were a "cure", we'd take it - it would absolutely make his life better! But that's highly unlikely, so we are getting him as much therapy as we can, and hope that he can have enough independence after we're gone to continue to have a happy life.