A few years ago, I met a little boy, we’ll call him Ethan. His parents were deeply committed to supporting his communication. Every week, they made the trip to the clinic for speech therapy. One afternoon, Ethan’s mom picked him up from school. She immediately sensed something was off. He was quiet, withdrawn, and clearly holding in a storm of feelings. But the family had a speech appointment in 30 minutes, so she rushed him into the car, handed him a snack, and hoped all wou