Tanasha Jackson has faced one hurdle after another in an effort to gain resources and help for her daughter.
The moment Harmony’s mother, Tanasha Jackson, began recording the occupational therapy session, she says the atmosphere changed.
What had already felt tense suddenly became uncomfortable in a different way. According to her, the therapist had been speaking harshly to Harmony and would not allow her to answer questions on her daughter’s behalf, despite Harmony being a young minor with autism. Sitting in the room, listening to the exchange escalate, she says she became overwhelmed and started crying.
Then came the moment she still cannot shake.
“She smiled,” Harmony’s mother said, describing the therapist’s reaction as emotions escalated during the session.
The interaction took place at Therapy World, where Harmony had been receiving occupational therapy services. Allegedly, the conversation eventually turned toward attendance concerns. She says she explained that Harmony had never struggled with attendance before, but the instability caused by being out of school had disrupted her routine and emotional regulation.
Feeling cornered, she began documenting the interaction on her phone.
According to Tanasha, the therapist’s demeanor changed immediately after she disclosed she had recorded the conversation. Not long afterward, Harmony was removed from services.
For Tanasha, the incident became part of a larger pattern she says she has faced for years while trying to secure support for her daughter. What began as concern over developmental differences eventually became a long, exhausting cycle of evaluations, school issues, provider conflicts, and constant advocacy, often while navigating financial strain and the loss of employment.
Harmony was diagnosed with autism when she was seven, and now she’s nine years old. By 2020, she says she was actively seeking answers, but repeatedly encountered resistance from both medical providers and educational systems.
“The school did not understand her needs,” she wrote in an email detailing her experiences. “I was often made to feel as though I was lacking as a parent rather than being supported in understanding my child’s needs.”
She says one pediatrician refused to provide a referral for further developmental evaluation. At another point, she was allegedly told Harmony would need to be placed on medication before she could even be seen by developmental specialists.
The delays stretched across years.
Eventually, another parent of a child with autism connected her with a neuropsychologist who could properly evaluate Harmony. Even then, she says the process felt emotionally punishing after years of trying to convince people that her daughter needed help.
“No one prepares you for the level of questioning that comes after years of trying to get help and being turned away,” she wrote. “It felt like having to prove everything all over again after already fighting to be heard.”
For many families raising autistic children, particularly Black families, delayed diagnosis and barriers to care are not uncommon. Studies have repeatedly shown that Black children are often diagnosed later than their white peers, despite showing early developmental signs. Advocates and researchers have also pointed to the ways Black parents are frequently treated with suspicion or dismissal when raising concerns about their children’s behavioral or developmental needs.
