On May 7, 2009 my son Gage was born and I fell in love with him in a instant. Gage was such a different baby from day one. His older siblings were colicky and cried allot but Gage was a much happier baby. I started to notice small things about him that worried me right after he turned 1. I think that as a mom and a woman that there is no better gift than your instincts. You should always trust your instincts because from my experience they are always right. Everyone in the family was in denial and kept telling me that he was just a "late bloomer" but by the time Gage was 2 and he wasn't talking there was no denying that there was a problem. I set out on a journey to get answers for Gage around the time he turned 2. It was a very long and lonely journey. Doctors were no help really. They tell you that there are "markers" for autism but other than sending us for a speech evaluation that was all they did. It was up to me and me alone to get the answers but in my heart I already knew what the diagnosis would be. After speech evals and hearing tests and 2 visits to two different psychologists we finally got the diagnosis of Autism. I went through the anger, sadness and grief stages after the diagnosis but then I quickly made it my life's mission to get all the information and help for Gage that was within my reach. I encourage parents to get early intervention for their children if you suspect Autism. It is the most important thing. I will never stop fighting for Gage. I am his Voice and he has my heart.

Rebekah Helton
Rogersville, TN