My daughter Mikyla was born a full term healthy baby. Mikyla has always been a happy child who is always smiling. She reached all her milestones early. At 18 months she was talking, identifying letters and some words from watching My Baby Can Read and LeapFrog as well as potty training. She loved books and the cartoon section of the newspaper. She often carried these items around with her and her baby doll. Right around her 2nd birthday she did a reverse and she stopped talking, stopped potty training and she stopped sleeping through the night. We took her to the doctor for her 2 year check-up. The doctor kind of ignored our concerns. Mikyla was referred to an ENT. We were told that Mikyla would probably began talking again if we had P.E. Tubes put in her ears, so we had the surgery. An entire year went by getting the run around when finally one doctor said that she must be autistic. Shortly after Mikyla's 3rd birthday she was diagnosed with autism. My entire world changed that day. Hearing that your child has autism is one of the hardest things to go through. Every day is a new day with joys and challenges. Some days seem harder than others. We have to celebrate even the smallest milestones. Mikyla goes to 6 hours of therapy a week with Speech, Occupational Therapy and Physical Therapy. It has been recommended that she receive more hours of intensive therapy but it is more than our insurance or pocket book allows. Mikyla's smile and laugh brings such joy to our family. I believe that one day Mikyla will talk again. God gave our family Mikyla for a reason. She is His precious child, His gift to us.

Candace Caswell-Thompson
Hudson, WI