Autism What is it? A parent's answer.

Autism is one of the scariest words a parent can hear when it is about their child. All of the parents with ASD kids I've talked to spent time denying Autism, many still do. I know my wife and I spent over 1 year chasing other names for what we saw in our son, sensory integration disorder, low tone, hyper sensitivity, PDD-NOS. Ultimately to treat him we had to accept the label of Autism or ASD-Autistic Spectrum Disorder. By accepting the label we found doctors and researchers who are helping kids like ours. Autism is a spectrum disorder, effecting children in different ways. Autism is polarizing, people argue about causes and cures, epidemic vs. better diagnostics, genetics vs. environment, acceptance vs. treatments, behavior modification vs. biomedical, vaccination vs. no vaccination... Autism is frustrating, your pediatrician patronizes you, your insurance company denies you, your family and neighbors tell you you're overreacting, your school system placates you, your child is suffering, you know it, and you don't have answers. Autism is hope. My son's autism has opened my eyes to a new world. A different world. A world where the smallest accomplishments are celebrated. Progress is measured and all things are possible. This blog is going to help me make sense of this world I hope it is useful for others as well.