When my son, McKinley was a baby, he would stand in the corner of his crib every day, jump up and down and do this funny little laugh. His dad and I would just laugh and laugh. Not knowing anything then about the struggles he would face years later. McKinley was diagnosed with Classic Autism at 6. His first year of Kindergarten was rough. We got no assistance when his little "quirks" became prevalent. We were told that he was just immature and needed to repeat Kindergarten. We moved that summer and he ended up at a different school where the teacher, immediately noticed something was "off". I was grateful that someone recognized something and pointed me in the right direction. I then spent the next 9 months researching and taking him to various appointments until we got that final diagnosis. After years of being picked on by kids, struggles with reading and writing, and his feelings of inadequacy in his ability to make friends, he's now 17, and will be a senior in high school, where he's been a straight A student and received the Magna Cum Laude. He has worked so hard and is going to graduate on time. When he was first diagnosed, I wasn't sure if that was a reachable goal for him. We could not be happier! With the right teachers, environment and God, anything is possible.

Trisha
Medina, OH