I am a mom to 3 wonderful boys. Their names are Tyson (12 years), Benny (10 years), and Noah (8 years).  They are so fun, loving and energetic.  They were all born by C-section because they were very large babies (over 10 lbs), but other than that they were all healthy and developed normally (sitting, crawling, walking, and babbling on time). 

Benny’s story:  When Benny (my middle son) was about one and a half his dad and I noticed he was unusually hyper and had no language at all, wouldn't eat hardly anything, and screamed a good portion of the day and night.  My Dr. kept telling me he was delayed in his language because he had an older brother who talked for him and he was just a hyper toddler.  By the time Benny was 2, my mom thought maybe he was deaf.  We took him to have his ears checked and they told us he had perfect hearing.  By this time I had a newborn (Noah) and life was getting very chaotic.  I finally just threw a fit and begged for help with Benny because I had no idea what was wrong with him.  We went to OHSU for an all day observation with specialists.  It was stressful, but I was very excited to see what they were going to tell us.  I truthfully had no idea.  When the doctors came to us with the diagnosis I was in total shock.  I was 25 years old and had never heard of autism.  Total panic set in....but with lots of support and love, my husband  and I worked through it.  Benny went to OHSU pre-school for children with autism for a while, then he went to the early intervention program through the school district.  He started to slowly learn ways to communicate.  By the time Benny was 4 he was talking pretty well and his behavior started improving leaps and bounds.  By the time he was ready for kindergarten he had almost completely come out of it.  He still had speech issues and was in OT, but he didn't need a special aid and was starting to make friends.  It was bizarre because Benny just seemed to start wanting to do all the same stuff as Tyson (our oldest son) playing with friends, eating at the dinner table, trying new foods, etc.  Benny is now 10 years old and going into 5th grade.  If you met him you would never know he didn't talk until 5 and threw about 10-1 hour long screaming fits a day for 3 or so years.  He is an excellent student, has tons of friends, and loves playing sports.  His story is truly a miracle from God and I am so very grateful.
 
Noah's Story:  Noah is an 8 year old boy who is very happy most of the time.  He was diagnosed with autism at 2 years at Mary Bridge Children's Hospital in Tacoma WA.  He started having the signs of autism at about 15 months.  I recognized them fairly soon because Benny had already been diagnosed with autism.  To be totally honest, I was in major denial.  I kept thinking,” this can not be happening again"  Noah was the easiest baby, and was developing normally, saying "mama"etc... To be honest...I mentally ignored the signs for a few months and just prayed he would start talking and acting like a normal toddler.  By age 2, I could not continue to live in denial.  We took him to the hospital and they performed similar tests on Noah as they did on Benny 2 years earlier.  My husband and I were not surprised when they came back to us with a formal diagnosis. It was very heart-breaking and stressful.  We pretty much did they same for Noah as we had done for Benny.  We put him in therapy and made the adjustments you have to make when you have a special needs toddler.  He was so adorable and cute, and always loving.  But he wouldn't eat any food (only baby formula), and he kept eating wood and paper.  It was awful.  Every time I turned around he was eating paper like it was a piece of pizza.  The Dr. put him on some special vitamins and that seemed to help a little.  His behavior was very similar to his brother's....very obsessive, totally oblivious to any danger, ran everywhere (never walked), never slept, etc...Noah did start to improve after about a year.  He started to communicate better and eat a little more food.  Every year since he improves and I am very happy that he has come such a long way, but he has not come out of his autism like Benny did.  My husband and I really expected him too.  I know this sounds silly, but everyday we would look for that miracle.  We thought he would snap out of it and all of a sudden want the same things as his brothers.  Noah is a very smart boy and you can tell he is always thinking of something.  He loves to draw, watch Disney movies, go to church and school, and play video games.  He can read a little and is almost at grade level in math.  He is currently in a CBC 2-3 at Fisher's Landing.  We are still praying for that miracle, but we are so thankful Noah is such a happy and healthy boy. 

I am truly blessed with my 3 boys.  They are the light in my life. Raising a child with autism is such a complicated, difficult, and sometimes heart-breaking journey, but it is the most rewarding journey I know I will ever make in my life.  I have faith that someday there will be a cure for autism