Cody's story begins April of 2004. He came into the world a week late, tongue tied and less than a week later already seeing the doctor for reflux.But he was mine and he was beautiful! Being a first time mother, I really had no clue how to keep calm enough to see through feeding challenges and keeping up with the laundry. After his 6 month milestone, everything calmed down. Now, get to enjoy the miracle that God gave me. He hit all his milestones normally. He even was saying a couple of words by age 2. That's when his journey really starts. One day I noticed a change in my son. He couldn't communicate anymore. He was throwing tantrums everyday because of his frustration. I also noticed how odd he was playing with his cars. After talking with a mother who has a daughter with autism, she convinced me that Cody should be evaluated. At age 2 1/2, Cody was diagnosed on the Autism Spectrum. Surprising to everyone I know, I didn't feel any dread. I went into action instead. But I did not treat him any different. He was still normal to me. Over the course of the years, Cody's challenges in development never brought him down. He started talking at age 4. His first words were please and thank you! LOL. I give him my unending support and love. I still praise God for giving me the privilege for raising such a special boy. He has the purest heart and his heart is huge! He is always thinking of others. Very curious but doesn't judge others. He is also the biggest car fanatic I know! He tells me that he loves me at least a billion times a day. He has made it very far and continues to improve. So proud of my little guy :-) I thank God for my special guy. I have never wished he was "normal", he is perfect the way he is. :-)

Jan
Gresham, OR