(NewsNation) — A reality TV star has stepped away from the limelight, and instead is shining a light on autism.

“Real Housewives of Salt Lake City” star Angie Harrington has decided to leave the show after three seasons to focus on her family after she said her 4-year-old son was recently diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder.

“With our recent diagnosis, I knew that my son needed my full attention and care. And although it was a hard choice for a while, once I made that choice, I knew absolutely I had made the right decision to stay home and take care of him,” Harrington said.

Harrington and her husband first noticed signs early on that their son may be different.

She explained that at around 10 months, her son was “extremely advanced” on the physical side and was walking and running without issue. However, they noticed that he was a bit slow and late to talk, he wasn’t really responding to them when they would call his name.

And while all toddlers develop differently, Harrington said the signs became undeniable.

When Harrington and her husband sought help, it was in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We were trying to get a diagnosis over Zoom. And as you can imagine, that was extremely challenging,” she said. “So it set us back about a year in his diagnosis until we could finally bring him into the office.”

When they were able to bring him in for a physical doctor’s visit, Harrington’s son was quickly diagnosed with autism.

“Luckily, we caught it early enough that it didn’t make a huge difference. But for parents out there, early intervention is huge,” Harrington explained.

She continued, “If you have questions, you may as well just get them checked out because you have no idea. It may be nothing, or they may have some other type of neurodivergent.”

Harrington’s best advice to other parents is to, “Hang in there.”

She explained that the best advice she received was to “pivot,” because nothing goes according to plan.

“The minute you have an expectation, you’re going to be disappointed. You’re going to feel like a failure. So you kind of are on their timeline. Take time to take care of yourself, too,” Harrington said.

Harrington said it is incredibly important to make sure parents with autistic children have the adequate help and care they need.

“The autism community is incredible. So join our online community, there’s so much support out there, but ultimately, really take care of yourself and it gets better. And it is such a blessing. I cannot tell you what it’s done for our family and how beautiful it’s been,” she said.