Mike Lake describes his autistic son Jaden as a "3- or 4-year-old trapped in a 16-year-old body," a boy who is nonverbal.

For Jaden, abstract thinking is a challenge and his most direct communication is reaching for his father's face and crying out "bababa" when he needs to be understood.

But that "beautiful simplicity" is enough for his dad.

"I lay down with him on the bed at night and he looks at me in communication mode," said Lake, 43. "Oftentimes, I just drift into his language ... He talks along with me at the same time bababa-ing. It's the strangest thing. We are not communicating anything concrete, not the world I am living in, but for us it is a connection."

Since 2006, Lake's world has been Canada's House of Commons, where he delves into the complex political issues of the day as a member of Parliament and secretary to the minister of industry.

But at home with Jaden, he enters a different world where speech doesn't matter as much as unequivocal love.

"I didn't get elected to Parliament on the autism issue," said Lake. "But as time has gone by, it's one world. It has allowed me a platform to get out there and raise awareness.

"We decided early on to include him in every opportunity we could and not to hide the family and to use the opportunities over time to share the story of an amazing kid and what life has been like for us."

Lake, whose family also includes wife Debi and 13-year-old Jenae, lives in Edmonton, Alberta. This week, he is in New York City speaking before the fifth annual World Focus on Autism, co-hosted by Autism Speaks and Ban Soon-taek, wife of UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

The world of autism is still a mystery. And while research has advanced, particularly in the area of genetics, it is still a puzzle to scientists. Some studies show autism strikes as many as 1 in 88 children, mostly boys.

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Autism and a Political Career Collide in Dad's Two Worlds