I had multiple US's bc Luke had delayed kidney development. I was given pitocin to speed up my labor, Luke had antibiotics amox/aug right at his 18 month shots (DOB 9/15/2001) 12/2003 my son could no longer say duck, dog, pig....he could only grunt. His eye contact slowly worsened. He eventually was a flapper who held his ears with every noise. Yes he lined up things, liked objects that spunned hence why we have a windmill in our yard. We had to demand a speech eval. & it was that lady who spent 30 minutes with my son - knew what he had. PDD. She was right & directed us in the right direction. He has come along way with early intervention. Our orthodontist says his mouth is 4 years delayed & testing falls 3-4 years behind in age. He even plays and acts 3-4 years younger. I find it interesting bc his kidneys were delayed in developing in utero. We just take a little longer to reach our age. We still have problems and some milestones never met. I stress about him everyday. Fixations, meltdowns, urgency/emergencies for everything, no patience, comprehension & misunderstanding are only some struggles. What breaks my heart is people wanting him to change for them when I know and have stressed autism is about adapting to them. So many people are missing out on life with him because they see him differently. Even his brother struggles to want to understand. We don't qualify for for anything, but an IEP. So in school he struggles to keep up and be a part, as he wants to be a part of everyone's life, yet they don't see what I see. I child who needs trust, love & acceptance. College may not be reachable for him, but he is determined to be a part of the NFL commentators or even a coach. For he loves football.

Paula McCarren
Falling Waters, WV