This is my son Justyn (in blue) and his older brother Blake having a sleep over in the livingroom. Justyn is 7 years old and is autistic along with having several different sensory disorders. He also is flat footed and has AFO braces. Justyn was full term but I knew within several hours that something was amiss. He was digesting his formula properly. He hit all his milestones late and for the first year of life he never weighed more than 12 pounds. After he hit two months of age no one was allowed to hold or touch him. He would freak out and scream. At a year old he was walking, starting to talk, but was still wearing 6-9 month clothing, we didnt put him in a front facing car seat until he was 2. Shortly after turning one Justyn was hospitalized with a serious blood infection. After a week in the hospital and a week at home with a PICU tube in his chest with medicine every several hours he finally got better. Within several days of stopping the medicine he stopped talking. At 18 months he was diagnosised with failure to thrive. At one and a half he started First Steps and began to learn sign language, he was also diagnosised with being flat footed and his ankles turned inward, he was also told he was low toned and the littlest thing wore him out. This is when his sensory issues kicked in and everything fell apart. He went to preschool for a year before being kicked out due to his tantrums and aggression, although they knew not to touch him. At the age of 6 he was diagnosised with seizures, and at the age of 7 he was diagnosised with Autism. He is struggling in school and with making friends. Although he has struggled for so long and is still struggling to this day I wouldn't change it for the world! He has grown so much and has come so far, he would give his heart for any of his friends and family!

Tami Hager
Elkhart, IN