Editorial letter. My backyard is private, it gets wet and dries like everyone else's. Public domain. April arrives and puts two issues on the global agenda that intersect with children. Children's rights and autism awareness. The issue has undergone a profound transformation from the 1980s to the 2020s. Although significant challenges persist, the shift in social awareness, legal frameworks, and international action has redefined how societies understand and protect childhood. In the 1980s, children's rights were not yet a central focus of the global agenda. In many regions of the world, children were primarily considered dependent on adults, without full recognition as rights holders. Problems such as child labor, exploitation, lack of access to education, and malnutrition were widely tolerated or ignored. The absence of robust international legal instruments limited states' ability to coordinate effective efforts. With the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1989, which established fundamental principles such as the best interests of the child, the right to education, protection from violence, and participation in decisions that affect them, this treaty marked the beginning of a structural change in the perception of childhood. Autism, on the other hand, was a poorly understood and frequently misdiagnosed condition. Many professionals still relied on erroneous theories, such as the idea that autism was caused by cold or distant parenting, which generated guilt in families. Diagnosis was limited, and in many cases, children were labeled with generic or institutionalized disorders. The lack of information and limited research hindered appropriate intervention, and educational inclusion was virtually non-existent. From the late 20th century onward, advances in psychology and neurology began to redefine the understanding of autism. By the 2020s, the term autism spectrum disorder reflected a broader and more diverse view, recognizing that it is a spectrum with multiple forms of manifestation. Today, early diagnosis is more common thanks to more precise clinical tools and improved training for healthcare professionals.