My son David was placed into early intervention by a fabulous team in Lake County, Il at the age of 3. I thought I was doing everything right to ensure my little boy would grow out of this undiagnosed behavior problem. At 8 he was diagnosed with PDD-NOS. they called high functioning Autism. As a parent, we teach our children how to behave. What is appropriate behavior and what is not. Needless to say, that doesn't work so well with children on the spectrum. A counselor who also had a child on the spectrum said to me, you can not change the way he views the world around him or how he reacts to it. You have to step into his world because he can not step into yours. It was profound to me that I was making things worse. He (his behavior, outbursts and fears) weren't the problem as much as how i was handling it was. So I started loving David from a different place within myself. It allowed him to feel accepted, loved and at last normal. So thank you David for your patience and showing me what true unconditional love really is.
VeraNora Springs, IA