Kitties [happily] squeezing me to death, me crying my face off, Feffs licking my bald head...somehow this photo just makes so much sense. 

When Feffs entered Kindergarten, he still didn't have a diagnosis of Autism - he was listed as "handicapped, other, non-specific". My parents continued to explore every possible avenue in getting him the help he so clearly needed. This was a bit trickier in the pre-Internet days. When my mom found out about a possibly pertinent TV special done by a notable allergist, she tracked down the info and called to get the transcript. When she & my dad heard a specialist was giving a talk on yeast overgrowth due to antibiotics, they hopped on a flight to Denver. That guy determined Jeff was low on magnesium/put him on a special yeast-free diet. All fruit had to be washed in bleach water, he couldn't eat anything that had been stored in a barrel, etc. Needless to say, it was a little tough to adhere to, and the behavioral changes, if any, were minimal. (My favorite part of this story is that my mom and sister would skulk down to the basement to sneak pudding pops for a moment of sanity/much needed sugar high.) There was some other doctor/expert/specialist in FL my parents considered going to, but it would have cost them $10,000 & they decided it sounded a little hokey. I can't imagine what it must have been like trying to figure out what to do/what was real/who to trust.

At a recent Autism Speaks event, parent after parent waxed poetic (aka sobbed gratefully) about the community/information Autism Speaks has provided them. If you haven't been there, it's hard to understand just how insanely crucial this is for families of those on the spectrum. 

To help Autism Speaks keep on keeping on, please consider donating to this year's walk!! You can donate here: http://bit.ly/FFCstacieannabelle