"Vanderpump Rules" star Brittany Cartwright is opening up about her son's nonverbal autism diagnosis.
The television personality spoke to People in a story published Wednesday, detailing how she came to discover her son Cruz's diagnosis and what progress he has made since.
"Cruz started off on track for everything, he crawled early, he walked early, he was talking," she said. "And then as he got closer to two we started noticing that he was regressing," she added, noting the regression only applied to his speech.
She said he ultimately "stopped talking almost completely."
Lisa Vanderpump on how 'Vanderpump Villa' is 'decadent, naughty and poignant'Cartwright said she started her son in speech therapy around the age of two, and she started to pursue a diagnosis. She said he also started occupational therapy and is "doing so much better."
"We finally were able to get with his doctor and they did diagnose him with autism," she said. "So right now he's nonverbal autism, but that doesn't mean he's always going to be non-verbal."
Cartwright noted he will occasionally use words to communicate with her.
The reality television actress said that she was "expecting" the diagnosis, but said receiving it "made everything real."
"Our life is going to look a little bit different, but I feel like I was meant to be his mom," she told the outlet.
Cartwright said even though he doesn't speak, she can still understand his desires.
Cartwright shares their son with Jax Taylor, the "Vanderpump Rules" star whom Cartwright filed for divorce from in August of last year.
Around one in 36 children have been diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), which describes the range of different ways autism may affect a person's ability to communicate, learn and interact with others according to the CDC. According to a study in Australia, roughly one in four children with autism are minimally verbal.
"Even though he can't talk, I know everything that he wants, everything that he needs and we're just so synced. It's incredible," she said.
She said even though her son can not say "I love you," he is a "Mommy's boy" and is able to show his love in many ways. "We have the best time together," she said.
Cartwright also highlighted common stigmas of nonverbal children, which she says Cruz defies.
Ariana Madix says 'Vanderpump' cast has been 'supportive' of her competing on 'Dancing with the Stars'"I think a lot of times with nonverbal children, people don't think that they understand what's going on, or they think that they aren't very smart," she said. "Cruz is very very very smart he has almost a photographic memory. He has so much going on it's just you know the way that autism works we're still learning lot as we go."
She also said her son is improving in eye contact, social skills and excelling in activities like swimming.
Cartwright said she came to the decision to speak about his diagnosis now on her own terms.
"A lot of people have tried to diagnose my son from social media or sitting on their armchairs," she said. "I felt like it was up to me whenever I was ready to talk about his autism because it is something that I'm learning myself. It's something brand new that we're going through and I'm his voice now and I'm doing everything. I'm fighting for him. I'm his warrior now," she said.
Taylor and Cartwright welcomed their son Cruz in April 2021.
