i had my son elijah when i was 19. He was such a happy baby,& was always smiling, playing with his toys, & he really took care of his toys i remember him keeping his blocks with blocks & cars with cars, lining them up. Around 9 months he started throwing bad tantrums by banging his head as hard he could & all i could do was hug him & get him to stop.i knew there was something wrong but i was in denial, i thought he's only a toddler it will pass, but it didn't, every-time we went out some where he would go ballistic because of loud noises, or get scared of things he didn't like or didn't understand, or he would always try to escape, runaway or wonder off, i couldn't keep my eyes off of him, i always worried, i just wanted him to be happy, it was hard especially because he wouldn't talk, & i could tell he would get frustrated because we couldn't communicate. finally we spoke to are doctor, went to a neurologist & therapist & they finally diagnosed him with autism spectrum disorder, speech disorder & coordination disorder, while the Dr. was explaining to my husband & i, i couldn't help but to cry i didn't understand what autism was, so many things raced through my mind, was he going to be okay, how can i help him, did autism mean all my dreams & all my hopes for my first one & only son would be gone? when i got home we started researching for information about autism & when we finally figured it out i couldn't help but to smile at my boy, siting next to me playing with his angry bird toy set, building his blocks putting the green little pigs on the blocks then throwing the angry birds at them, as his blocks & piggies tumbled down, he would laugh so hard, he loves angry birds, it was then that i realized, Elijah the way you see the world is a gift, & we feel so blessed.

eileen fluty
brownsville, TX