Autism is a developmental disability that generally appears between the ages of 15 and 20 months of age. In most cases, the child is progressing normally, and then begins to regress, losing speech, social skills and physical abilities. While there are varying degrees of severity, most children completely withdraw into a world of their own.

Children do not outgrow autism. There is no cure. It is a lifelong disability with a normal life expectancy. It affects boys five times more than it affects girls, although girls are generally more severely affected.

In the United States over one million individuals live with autism, making it more prevalent than Down Syndrome, childhood diabetes, and childhood cancer combined.

One of the many challenges of being the parent or caregiver of an autistic child is finding help to cope with the disorder. Finding the right doctors and accessing appropriate education and treatment are critically important.

You can make your voice heard. Help educate the public about autism.

How many of the people you pass everyday are looking for someone to talk with about Autism? How many would love to find someone they can talk with about everyday challenges that they now face alone?. How many have information that could help you but don't know you care? The numbers could surprise you!

For many years I would only talk about our challenges in small closed groups, but now I'm asked about, and I talk about or learn something new about Autism almost every day. For me my buttons are not just about spreading awareness, they have been a part of my own Self-healing process.