Kayleb was born a healthy happy baby. He lagged behind in milestones, but naturally we assumed that was due to our comparison to his older sister who was extremely ahead of the game as a baby. He ate well, he giggled, and he found items that he enjoyed, while they were not what we expected, we always assumed it was a "phase." Around 18 months I began to notice some things that I found odd. Kayleb didn't have any words aside from the repetitive "mamamama" and "dadadada," he wouldn't respond to his name, and the words "no, sir" (while repeated many times over those first few months) never took and I would physically have to remove him from the situation. I began to notice that he would act repetitively when playing (open and close doors, spin tires on play cars) but showed no interest in actually playing with the toys. My husband was not as aware of the signs of Autism as I was, so his natural reaction was to wait it out. I remember talking to close friends about my concerns and finally deciding for myself to call his pediatrician to make an appointment. My mother came along and for an hour we hashed out all of our concerns, we were referred to a developmental pediatrician, and every kind of specialist under the sun. Hearing was great. Eyes were great. But it was before even these results came back that I knew my son had Autism. Kayleb, now 2 1/2, is in occupational therapy as well as speech therapy and in just the last few months that we began has come LEAPS and BOUNDS from where we started. I am just so very proud of my son. Its the jumping up and downs and high-fives over just a three letter word, then repeating that little word hundreds of times just to hear him say it. I wouldn't trade our path for any other in the world. Kayleb is my perfect son, and I thank God that he was my blessing.

Sarah Dickens
Hillsborough, NC